Romania’s tennis ace Simona Halep, who is No.1 in WTA’s ranking of best female tennis players in the world, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Shenzhen Open on Wednesday, January 3, after a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory against China’s Duan Ying-Ying.

Following this victory, Halep has secured the No.1 seed for the upcoming Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. She also remains the world’s top female tennis player.

Next, the Romanian will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Danka Konvinic 6-1, 6-0 on Tuesday.

Simona Halep was the second Romanian tennis player to qualify for the Shenzhen Open quarterfinals. Irina Begu also advanced in the tournament on Wednesday after a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win against Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Both Halep and Begu will play on Thursday, January 4.

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Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Shenzhen Open on Facebook)