# Sports

Italian Open: Simona Halep reaches semifinals

The Romanian returns to a semifinal at the Foro Italico after playing in 2013 and 2015.

IANS | Rome | May 20, 2017 5:25 am

Italian Open: Simona Halep reaches semifinals

Simona Halep on Friday defeated Estonia's Anett Kontaveit to enter the semifinals of the Italian Open here.

Halep, recent champion of the Madrid Open, needed one hour and 20 minutes to win 6-2, 6-4 against Kontaveit, who recently eliminated World No.1 Angelique Kerber, of Germany, from the tournament, reports Efe.

The Romanian returns to a semifinal at the Foro Italico after playing in 2013 and 2015, when she lost to American Serena Williams and Spaniard Carla Suarez.

The World No.4 now awaits her rival in the next round, which is set to be the winner of the duel between Dutch Kiki Bertens and Australian Daria Gavrilov.

# Sports

Italian Open: Hunter-Mertens defeat Gauff-Pegula to win doubles title

No.4 seeds Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens captured their first team title at the Italian Open by defeating top seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-4 in the final, here.

# Sports

Alcaraz’s loss against Marozsan at Italian Open changes the battle for World No. 1

Carlos Alcaraz's early exit from the Italian Open with loss against Fabian Marozsan has repercussions beyond the Rome ATP Masters 1000 event and it also could have a big effect on the battle for No. 1 in the ATP Rankings.

# Sports

Italian Open: Djokovic, Rune, Rudd advance to round of 32

The top seed advanced to the next round after a win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry by 7-6(5), 6-2 at the ATP Masters 1000 event. This win was a hard-earned one for Djokovic, who committed 21 unforced errors and appeared physically unwell during a rough first set.