World No.3 Simona Halep qualified for the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday, January 27, after a two-set victory over 2018 semifinalist and No.16 seed Elise Mertens. The Romanian defeated Mertens 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes.

This will be Simona Halep’s fourth Australian Open quarterfinal. This qualification is to bring a prize of USD 375,000 and 430 WTA points to the Romanian tennis ace, enough for her to go up to the second place in the WTA singles ranking, according to local Digi24.

“It’s a great performance by me to play the quarterfinals again, it’s really nice to enjoy tennis here in Australia. I’m really happy to go through,” Simona Halep said, quoted by Ausopen.com.

To reach the semifinals for the second time in her career, Halep will have to defeat No.28 seed Anett Kontaveit in the next match.

Last year, the Romanian tennis ace stopped in the round of 16 match at the Australian Open, when she was defeated by American tennis star Serena Williams 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

newsroom@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Simona Halep)