No. 2 Sara Errani was knocked out by No. 7 Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 7-6 (4), 6-3 despite landing 96 per cent of her first serves.
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Halep would close affairs with a backhand down-the-line return victor to close out the victory and book a spot in the quarterfinals alongside Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic.
After falling behind by a double-break, Shinikova broke the Halep serve twice consecutively to stay in touch in set two, but she could consolidate either time and never got back on serve. She will face USA’s Vania King for a place in the final, as the American eased past France’s Pauline Parmentier in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
Second-seeded Sara Errani, last year’s runner-up, advanced when her opponent, fellow Italian Francesca Schiavone, retired with a right shoulder injury after both split the first two sets.
Roared on by a capacity crowd Halep did not disappoint, withstanding some early pressure to run out an ultimately comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victor in an hour and 12 minutes.
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Seventh seed Mona Barthel also crashed out 2-6 6-1-7-5 to another Swiss, Viktorija Golubic, while Carina Witthoeft and Katerina Siniakova were the other winners.
