Halep outlasts Pavlyuchenkova to reach third round in Montreal

(Reuters) - Top seed Simona Halep grinded out a 7-6(9) 4-6 7-5 win over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday but will have little time to rest ahead of her third-round clash with Venus Williams. Halep, whose match began on Wednesday but was halted because of rain with Pavlyuchenkova ahead 4-3, returned to close out a three-hour battle during which she required treatment for what appeared to be blisters on the bottom of her right foot. The Romanian world number one will have a quick turnaround as she is set to cap the evening session with a battle against seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams, who will also not be fully rested after beating Sorana Cirstea 7-6(4) 6-4 in a match that was postponed from Wednesday. "I'm little bit dead, to be honest. It's a long time since I played my last match at Wimbledon. I will try to do my best to recover and fight next match," Halep said in her on-court interview. "She's a champion and it's always difficult to play against her. On hard courts, it's more difficult. I will try to enjoy it and to have a nice atmosphere again." Johanna Konta, who was leading former world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-3 3-0 on Wednesday before rain forced an overnight delay, returned to wrap up the match 6-3 6-1. Up next for the British number one will be a clash with defending champion Elina Svitolina. U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, the third seed, beat Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the quarter-finals, where she will face Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova, a 6-3 7-6(2) winner over German 10th seed Julia Goerges. (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)