Beijing: Simona Halep was beaten in the second round of the China Open on Monday by Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the Romanian appearing to struggle with a back injury.
The 28-year-old reigning Wimbledon champion lost 6-2, 6-3 in 64 minutes in Beijing to bring her tournament to an early end.
Halep, fifth in the world, was far from her best as she went down meekly to the 38th-ranked Alexandrova. She was also forced out of last week’s Wuhan Open because of her troublesome back. Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu had to dig deep as she won her first match since her US Open heroics.
The 19-year-old rising star defeated 60th-ranked Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in what was at times an unconvincing performance, finishing the match with 31 unforced errors.
The world number six, who stunned Serena Williams in the final at Flushing Meadows, arrived in Beijing on a run of 13 wins in a row. (AFP)
