Halep beats Keys, into Wuhan tennis semis

Romania's Simona Halep has reached the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open in China with a 6-4 6-2 win over American Madison Keys.

Angelique Kerber has suffered her first defeat as world No.1 during the Wuhan Open in China. (AAP)

Fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania advanced to the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open on Thursday with a 6-4 6-2 win over Madison Keys of the United States.

Halep dominated the eighth-seeded Keys with powerful groundstrokes to set up a last-four showdown with Britain's Johanna Konta or Czech Petra Kvitova.

With the win, Halep improved to 4-1 against Keys and qualified for her third straight appearance at the WTA Finals in Singapore.

It was Halep's third victory against Keys this year following wins in the third round of Wimbledon and in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.