Barty beats Sharapova in Cincinnati, Halep through

Top seed Ashleigh Barty brushed aside Maria Sharapova in straight sets in her Cincinnati WTA opener while Simona Halep also reached the third round.

Australia's Barty, 23, won the battle of former number one players in just over 90 minutes on Wednesday.

The reigning Roland Garros champion beat five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova, who was Cincinnati champion in 2011, for the second time this season after a win at the Australian Open.

It was Barty's 40th victory of 2019 and she goes on to face Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, who beat Polish teenager Iga Swiatek 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).

"I did a really good job, especially in winning some of the crucial games," the Australian said.

"I love this time of year, getting back onto the hardcourts and back to the summer here."
- Halep fights back -
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"Mentally, it was tough to return for me at the start after playing injured last week. "But I didn't have pain, which is good. It took time to get a rhythm and then do something on court."