Halep overcomes back injury to reach quarters in Romania

CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania (AP) — Top-seeded Simona Halep overcame a back injury to defeat Varvara Gracheva of Russia 6-4, 6-2 and reach the quarterfinals of the Transylvania Open. Second-seeded Anett Kontaveit and U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu also had straight-set wins to advance to the last eight of the Romanian indoor event. Halep was visibly hampered in her movement but capitalized on her strong serve and a number of unforced errors by Gracheva. She said “the back got blocked and the pain is really big. You cannot really bend much and you cannot move.” Halep next plays fellow Romanian Jacqueline Cristian.