Romania's Halep advances to the round of 16 of Miami Open tournament

Romania's tennis player Simona Halep , currently world's number 3, on Sunday advanced to the women's singles round of 16 of the 5,381,235-US-dollar WTA Miami Open 2015 tournament, after defeating Italy's Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 7-5.

Photo credit: (c) Silviu MATEI / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Halep, the last Romanian player left in the race, had never before reached the round of 16 of the Miami Open. For her performance so far, she has won 59,185 US dollars and 120 WTA points.

In a very balanced first set, Giorgi had the better start, winning the first game, and then leading 2-1. Halep won back the advantage, 3-2, but the Italian player did not let up easily and got back in the lead, 4-3, capitalising on the weaker moments of Halep. Halep bounced back in the next three games and won the first set.

In the second set, Halep won the first game, but the next two went to Giorgi. The Romanian caught up with the Italian to win three consecutive games, getting a 4-2 advantage and looking close to victory. Giorgi's solid mental resistance helped her catching up in games. Halep managed a 5-4 in the set, but Giorgi won another game, before the match going 6-4, 7-5 to Halep.

The fixture lasted one hour and 29 minutes. Camila Giorgi, seeded 30th and ranked 37th in the WTA singles ranking, met Halep for the first time. Both players are 23 years old.

In the round of 16, Halep will meet the winner of the fixture pitting Victoria Azarenka of Belarus versus Italy's Flavia Pennetta. AGERPRES