Tennis | Halep into third round at Wuhan Open

Former French Open finalist Simona Halep took less than 70 minutes to reach the third round of the Wuhan Open, advancing yesterday when fellow Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu retired in the second set of their second-round match.
The No. 4-seeded Halep was leading 6-3, 2-0 when Begu retired with a back injury amid warm and humid conditions. Halep, who skipped the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last week because of a hamstring strain, had a first-
round bye at Wuhan.
In first-round matches, 2014 champion Petra Kvitova opened with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Jelena Ostapenko and set up a meeting with Elina Svitolina, who rallied from a break down in the third set to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“This was the fourth time we’ve played this season and I’m glad now it’s 2-2,” Kvitova said. “I know how difficult it can be to play her and how dangerous she is.”
No. 10-seeded Dominika Cibulkova had a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Alize Cornet and Yulia Putintseva was leading 6-1, 4-1 when Anastasija Sevastova retired from their match.
Johanna Konta, the 11th seed, had a 6-1, 6-2 win over Annika Beck, and Madison Brengle advanced after leading 6-3, 2-1 when British qualifier Heather Watson retired because of a stomach complaint.
Top-seeded Angelique Kerber is in action on Tuesday against Kristina Mladenovic, who had a 7-6 (5), 6-3 first-round win over CoCo Vandeweghe.
Serena Williams, who was replaced by Kerber at No. 1 in the rankings with her run to the U.S. Open title, has withdrawn from the tournaments in Wuhan and Beijing because of an injured right shoulder. AP