Tennis: Simona Halep qualifies for round of 16 at Australian Open

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranked third in the world, has qualified for the round of 16 of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, on Friday, in Melbourne, after defeating by 6-4, 7-5 American player Bettanie Mattek-Sands in the third round.

Photo credit: (c) Xu YANYAN / XINHUA

Simona Halep secured a check worth 175,000 Australian dollars and 240 WTA points, and will face off in the round of 16 against Belgian Yanina Wickmayer (25 years old, #80 WTA), who defeated Sara Errani (seeded fourteenth) in the third round by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Wickmayer has defeated Halep in all the three previous matches between the two: in 2010 by 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the ITF Torhout tournament, in 2011, by 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals in Auckland, and in 2012 by 6-4, 6-0, in the quarterfinals in Hobart.

Halep, a quarterfinalist last year in Melbourne, is the second Romanian to reach the round of 16 this year in Melbourne after Irina Begu defeated, also on Friday, Carina Witthoeft (Germany) by 6-4, 6-4. AGERPRES