By Chris Oddo | Tuesday August 15, 2017
Simona Halep rallied from an early deficit to march past American qualifier Taylor Townsend, 6-4, 6-1, on busy Tuesday at the Western and Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
More: Sharapova Receives U.S. Open Main Draw Wild Card
Halep, who can claim the No.1 ranking with a title, was a runner-up in Cincinnati in 2015.
On Tuesday she responded nicely to a little early-match adversity by winning 11 of the final 12 games to book a third-round clash with No.15-seeded Anastasija Sevastova. Halep improves to 36-11 on the season, and 13-5 at Cincinnati.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta also rolled in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, over Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens. The No.7 seed won 26 of 29 first-serve points and will face either Ana Konjuh or Alizé Cornet in the third round.
Julia Goerges provided one of the bigger upsets of the day by blasting past No.10-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-4 behind 12 aces and four of five break points converted.
No.9-seeded Venus Williams eased past 6-2, 6-0, while No.12-seeded Jelena Ostapenko was knocked off by qualifier Aleksandra Krunic, 6-4, 6-2. This year’s Roland Garros champion has gone 0-2 on the North American hardcourts this season.
Catch up with all of Tuesday’s results at Tennisnow.com.