The incumbent world No. 5 Simona Halep of Romania successfully made her way to the semifinal round of the ongoing 2016 WTA Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open after winning over Madison Keys of the United States in their quarterfinal match in the Chinese province of Hubei on Thursday.

According to NBC Sports, Halep got the better of the No. 9 American tennis ace with a 6-4, 6-2 straight-set triumph and improved her head-to-head matchup against Keys to 4-1. It was also the fourth seed's third consecutive victory against Keys this year after defeating the American in the Wimbledon (third Round) and in the Rogers Cup (final round).

Like Us on Facebook

"It was a great match for me," the 25-year-old Halep said. "I knew she would be very tough because she's strong and serves really well. But I was moving well and enjoyed my time on the court." 

With the victory, the 2014 Roland Garros winner did not only secure a berth in the tournament's last four, but also succeeded in obtaining a spot in the upcoming WTA Finals in Singapore next month.

Halep qualified for her third successive appearance at the USD7,000,000 Tour Championships, which is the WTA's season finale. She will be joining the current world No. 1 Angelique Kerber of Germany and world No. 2 Serena Williams of the United States in the WTA Finals, according to Reuters.

 "It means a lot to qualify... it was one of my goals this year," said Halep. "It will be my third time in a row competing at the WTA Finals and I hope I play great."

The winning Romanian tennis player will be facing world No. 16 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the semifinal stage of the tournament. Kvitova earned her ticket to the round of last four  after beating Johanna Konta of the Great Britain with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

TagsSimona Halep, Madison Keys, wta finals, wuhan open, Petra Kvitova