Halep cruises past Venus at Miami Open
World No. 3 and second-seeded Romanian Simona Halep made quick work of Venus Williams on Monday, claiming a 6-3, 6-3 victory in 73 minutes in the round of 16 at the Miami Open.
Halep broke Williams' service twice in a row to open up a 3-0 lead in the first set, and then broke again in the ninth game to clinch the set. In the second set, Halep swept at love in the fourth game to lead 3-1. She faced just one break point the rest of the way, staving it off and clinching the match two points later.
"I know Venus doesn't give up, and that I have to be there for every ball when I play against her," Halep said afterward in an on-court interview, per Tennis.com. "I knew that I would have to fight and run a lot today, and I think I did that pretty well. I also knew that I would have to stay close to the baseline and play faster.
"It's always a pleasure to play with the Williams sisters, and I'm proud to win again today."
The win was Halep's second against Williams this year, after she prevailed in straight sets at the Australian Open. Halep has won each of their past four meetings after Williams took the first three.
Halep will next face 18th-seeded Qiang Wang of China, who downed countrywoman Yafan Wang 7-5, 6-4.
With two more wins, the Romanian could reclaim the world No. 1 ranking. With top-ranked Naomi Osaka of Japan already eliminated in Miami, Halep would take the top spot back if she reaches the final and world No. 2 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic does not. If Kvitova, the third seed, also reaches the final, the winner of the final would take the top ranking.
Kvitova cruised through her round of 16 match on Monday, dispatching 19th-seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3.
Meanwhile, 13th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark fell to Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-7 (0), 6-2 in a 2-hour, 13-minute match.
Wozniacki, who has slipped from No. 3 to No. 13 in the world since the start of 2018 while battling injury and illness, was broken twice in a row to close out the first set and twice in a row to open the third.
Also falling on Monday was Dutch seventh seed Kiki Bertens, as Australian 12th seed Ashleigh Barty rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Estonian 21st seed Anett Kontaveit advanced, as Canadian teenage sensation Bianca Andreescu was forced to retire due to a right shoulder injury while trailing 6-1, 2-0 early in the second set. The withdrawal ended a 10-match winning streak for Andreescu, who triumphed at the recent BNB Paribas Open.
Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Germany's Tatjana Maria. Vondrousova next will face fifth-seeded countrywoman Karolina Pliskova, who overcame Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 late Monday night.
--Field Level Media
