Barti beats Sharapova and Halep escapes his troubles

First-seeded Ashley Barti started slowly to defeat Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-1 while Simona Halep beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6 7-5 6-4 in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday.

Roland-Garros champion Barty made a double mistake of giving Sharapova a 2-1 lead in the first set, but the Russian made six double mistakes and missed six of seven chances.

Barti broke early in the second set and advanced 2-0 and Sharapova tried to resist but the American won after winning 11 of the last 13 games.

In the next round, Barti will meet Annette Contavit, who beat rookie Iga Sviatik in two sets.

Wimbledon champion Halep recovered after a late defeat against Alexandrova with a powerful serve and a 5-4 lead in the second set, but won three straight games and won the shoot-off.

It was Halep's first game since retiring from the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup last Friday because of a problem at Achilles tendon, but she was doing well against her Russian rival.

Halep, seeded fourth, is looking for his first title in the tournament after losing the final three times in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

World No. 1 Naomi Osaka maintained her perfect record against Aliaksandra Sasnovic, losing to her in four games after winning 7-6, 2-6, 6-2.

Osaka, who regained first place after Barty's early exit from the Rogers Cup, made 24 successful shots and was in top form before heading to New York to defend the US Open later this month. .

She will play against Hsieh Su-wei in the third round.

Third seed Carolina Pliskova crushed Wang Yavan 6-1, 6-3 and Donna Vikic beat former champion Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 7-5 and hit Venus Williams on Thursday.

Seventh-seeded Ilya Svetolina, ninth-ranked Arena Sabalinka and Madison Keys of the United States advanced to the third round after winning two straight sets.