Halep beats heat, Cepelova to advance at U.S. Open

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Second-seeded Simona Halep of Romania beat the heat by hurrying past Jana Cepelova of Slovakia 6-2 6-1 to reach the third round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

(Reuters)

Halep, who battled back to beat U.S. college champion Danielle Collins in the opening round after losing a first-set tie-breaker, wasted little time as temperatures soared on a hazy day in Flushing Meadows.

"I started a little bit too slow, but then I started to be more aggressive and hit the ball," said world number two Halep. "I feel great now that I could win so fast today because it's so hot outside."

Halep, the French Open runner-up, will next meet either Shahar Peer of Israel or Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

(Reporting by Larry Fine; Editing by Frank Pingue)