Simona, Kiki in semis showdown

ROME: Romanian sixth seed Simona Halep and Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens will face off in the semi-finals of the Rome Masters after coming through their respective quarter-final matches.

Simona surged into the last four for the third time after a 6-2, 6-4 win over Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit.

Simoa, who reached the French Open final in 2014, now meets Kiki after the 15th seed, ranked 20th in the world, ousted Australian qualifier Daria Gavrilova 6-3, 6-3.

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. AFP