Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranked third in the world, has qualified for the round of 16 of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, on Friday, in Melbourne, after defeating by 6-4, 7-5 American player Bettanie Mattek-Sands in the third round.
Simona Halep secured a check worth 175,000 Australian dollars and 240 WTA points, and will face off in the round of 16 against Belgian Yanina Wickmayer (25 years old, #80 WTA), who defeated Sara Errani (seeded fourteenth) in the third round by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Wickmayer has defeated Halep in all the three previous matches between the two: in 2010 by 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the ITF Torhout tournament, in 2011, by 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals in Auckland, and in 2012 by 6-4, 6-0, in the quarterfinals in Hobart.
Halep, a quarterfinalist last year in Melbourne, is the second Romanian to reach the round of 16 this year in Melbourne after Irina Begu defeated, also on Friday, Carina Witthoeft (Germany) by 6-4, 6-4.
Irina-Camelia Begu (42 WTA) has also qualified to last sixteen after defeating on Friday 6-4, 6-4 German Carina Wittnoft (104 WTA), her best performance ever. Begu will receive 240 WTA points and a cheque for EUR 123,000. In the next round Begu will face Canadian Eugenie Bouchard (WTA 7). Bouchard has defeated Carolina Garcia (France, WTA 36) 7-5, 6-0.
The team Florin Mergea/Dominic Inglot (Romania/UK), has defeated on Friday 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2 the Argentinean double Diego Schwartzman/Horacio Zeballo and went through to the last sixteen. Also the team Horia Tec?u/Jean-Julien Rojer (Romania/Netherlands – 6th seeded), has qualified to the last sixteen after defeating 6-4, 6-2 the Australians Chris Guccione/Lleyton Hewitt.
On Thursday evening Romanian Marius Copil was defeated by Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (4) 7-6 (4) 6-3. Although defeated, Copil can brag with the fastest serve in the tournament: 242 km/hour.
Four-time champion Roger Federer is out of the Australian Open after being beaten in the third round by unheralded Italian Andreas Seppi. The 33-year-old Swiss second seed went down 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) to Seppi, who is ranked 46 in the world, the BBC informs.
Seppi, 30, had never beaten the 17-time Grand Slam champion in 10 previous meetings and his win ends a 23-match losing streak against top 10 opponents.
“I just tried my best and it was one of my best matches for sure,” said Seppi.
It is the first time since 2003 that Federer has failed to reach at least the semi-finals in Melbourne, and extends his run without a Grand Slam title which stretches back to Wimbledon 2012.