Simona Halep faced a determined and skilled opponent in Dayana Yastremska, but the Romanian’s experience, mastery and a generous amount of luck gave her a passage into the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia with a 7-5 6-4 victory.
The world No.29 Yastremska opened her first ever meeting with Halep with a confident 3-0 lead, but that advantage dissipated as the top seed surged back and even won ten points in a row during the stretch. At 5-5, as the set was coming to a close, Yastremska opened her service game with a double fault, allowing herself to feel vulnerable and a string of errors followed as Halep recorded a crucial break.