Indian Wells, March 16 (BNA): Simona Halep knocked out fellow Romanian Sorana Cerstia 6-1 6-4 and Ega Swiatek scored her third win in a row as the two players reached the quarter-finals at Indian Wells.
Former world number one Halep, who won the WTA 1000 tournament in the desert of Southern California seven years ago, swept through the first set with the help of her fault-prone opponent, Reuters reported.
Cirstea went 2-0 up to start the second half but the two-time champions reclaimed the win to seal victory when the world number 27 sent a backhand on match point.
A beaming Halep sent a kiss to the TV cameras, raised her fist and waved excitedly to the crowd on the first court after winning the Romanian derby. Halep is now 19-0 in the matches against her countrymen.
“It’s hard to play against a Romanian player, it’s a bit exhausting,” Halep said in an interview with Tennis Channel.
“But I go to the court and just think to myself, I don’t pay attention to who I should play. I have a plan to do, and today it was a very strong victory. I felt really good on the court.”
Halep will occupy her hands in the quarter-finals when she faces Petra Martic after the Czech beat Ludmila Samsonova 7-6 (6) 6-4.
World number 79 Martic was hot in the desert, defeating 19th seed Tamara Zidansek in the second round before edging out US Open champion Emma Raducano on Sunday.
Martic said having a short memory was the key to her recent success.
“I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so this definitely doesn’t always help,” she told reporters.
“I try not to judge myself for mistakes…I just try to compete and fight to the end.”
Poland’s Swiatek scored her third win in a row to beat former world number one Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Kerber broke the start of the third game to lead 3-1 but third seed Swiatek got back to the 3-3 level and continued from there.
The 20-year-old will face Madison Keys on Wednesday after American big-server Harriet Dart sent Britain’s Harriet Dart to qualify for a 6-1 6-4 victory.