Halep sees off injury-stricken Petkovic to reach last 16

PARIS: Top seed Simona Halep eased to a 7-5, 6-0 victory over German Andrea Petkovic to reach the French Open fourth round on Saturday.

Petkovic struggled with a right knee injury in the second set as Romanian Halep moved into the second week at Roland Garros for the fourth time.

The 26-year-old world number one, runner-up in Paris in 2014 and 2017, is still looking for her first Grand Slam title.

Halep, who had been shunted out to Court 18 for the match with Petkovic, will face Australian Open semi-finalist Elise Mertens next after the Belgian 16th seed beat Daria Gavrilova.