ROME: Romanian sixth seed Simona Halep surged into the semi-finals of the Rome Masters for the third time after a 6-2, 6-4 win over Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit on Friday.
Halep, who reached the French Open final at Roland Garros in 2014, sets up a clash with Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens or Australian Daria Gavrilova.
Bertens, ranked 20th in the world, faces the 33rd-ranked Gavrilova later Friday.
American Venus Williams, seeded ninth, faces Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza for a place in the last four, while Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, seeded eighth, faces Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova.