Halep beats Gauff 6-4, 7-6 (2) to reach Toronto semifinals
Aug 12, 2022, 2:24 AM | Updated: 9:14 pm

Beatriz Haddad Maia, from Brazil, watches a return to Belinda Bencic, from Switzerland, during the National Bank Open tennis tournament Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, in Toronto. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
(Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
TORONTO (AP) — Two-time champion Simona Halep beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Friday to reach the National Bank Open semifinals.
Halep, the 30-year-old from Romania, won the event in Montreal in 2016 and 2018. She will face seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
The 15th-seeded Halep is 4-0 against the Gauff, the 18-year-old American seeded 10th.
In the night session, Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil ousted 12th-seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. On Thursday, Haddad Maia beat top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland.
In the late match, 14th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic beat Zheng Qinwen of China 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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