THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DOHA, Qatar — Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka swept aside Simona Halep of Romania 6-3, 6-1 Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open.
The Australian Open champion looked to be in for a much tougher fight when Halep broke the Australian Open champion to go up 3-1 in the first set. Azarenka won the next eight games to take a 3-0 lead in the second set. The 63rd-ranked Halep managed to break Azarenka to make it 5-1, but it was too late to stage a comeback. Azarenka broke back to clinch the match with a forehand winner down the line.
Azarenka now faces Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium who beat Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-0.