MADRID, Spain -- Defending champ Simona Halep had no trouble dispatching CoCo Vandeweghe in the quarterfinals of Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday.
Halep, whose last two matches were three-set battles, only lost two games in the match, winning 6-1, 6-1. Today she took away Vandeweghe's power, dictating play from the baseline, inducing temper tantrums from the American.
"It was very good match actually," said Halep in her post-match conference. "I knew what I have to do against her. I knew that I have to play fast, to make her move, to hit from distance.
"Yeah, I tried also to be more aggressive from her second serve. I served pretty well. I don't believe I lost a serve today.
"It was a good match. I was a little bit nervous, to be honest, before the match, because she has a big serve. It's always tough to play with someone who has a big serve.
"Yeah, I was thinking a little bit. I lost every emotion, and I played my best," said Halep.
Next up for the No. 3 seed is Anastasija Sevastova, who defeated Kiki Bertens 6-3, 6-3.
Earlier on Thursday, red-hot Kristina Mladenovic, who took out Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart, defeated wild card Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-3. Mladenovic now awaits the winner of Eugenie Bouchard and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Bouchard, who called Sharapova a "cheater" and said that Sharapova should have been banned for dopping, knocked out the Russian in an edge-of-your-seat three-sets thriller in the second round.
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