Tennis: Simona Halep qualified for the quarterfinals of the Australian Open

Melbourne, Feb 14 /Agerpres/ - Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the world's number two, qualified for the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, by beating Polish Iga Swiatek 3 -6, 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday in Melbourne. Halep (29 years old), the second seed, won against the Roland Garros champion after one hour and 50 minutes, and in the quarterfinals she will encounter American Serena Williams. Halep secured a check for 525,000 dollars and 430 WTA points. Serena Williams (39 years old, the 11th in the WTA), who is aiming for her 24th Grand Slam title of her career, beat Belarusian Sarina Sabalenka 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Halep and Williams faced 11 times in the professional circuit, the American leading 9-2 in the direct matches. The last match was the final at Wimbledon, in 2019, when Halep won 6-2, 6-2. In 2019, the two also met in Melbourne, in the round of 16, and Serena won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 then.AGERPRES (RO - editor: Mihai Tenea; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi)