Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic has bowed out of the Cincinnati Open after losing to world No.1 Simona Halep following the resumption of their suspended second-round clash.
Rain forced the match to be put on hold at one set each and Halep leading 4-3 in the decider on Wednesday evening before the players finally returned to court on Thursday but only after another four-hour delay.
Halep wasted little time, sealing the deal against the world No.58 as she wrapped up a 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory.
However the Romanian won't have much time before her round of 16 clash against Australian 16th seed Ashleigh Barty as the duo are scheduled to cap Thursday's evening session.
Halep owns a 1-0 career record against Barty, with the win coming last week in the semi-finals in Montreal where the French Open champion went on to capture her third title of the season.
Two-time Wimbeldon champion Petra Kvitova eased past Kristina Mladenovic to advance.
After eliminating Serena Williams on Tuesday, Kvitova took little time to make it through round three, seeing off her opponent 6-4 6-2.
In between rain interruptions, the pair exchanged breaks in the first set, Kvitova ultimately serving out the set and moving on to break Mladenovic in a marathon game at the start of the second.
Kvitova kept up the momentum from there, racing to a 5-0 lead and despite dropping serve and failing to convert a match point, she served out on her second attempt to take the match after 90 minutes on court.
The former world number two will now face number 15 seed Elise Mertens, who beat US Open champion Sloane Stephens in straight sets 7-6 (10-8) 6-2.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed a fourth top 10 scalp in her career, beating number six seed Caroline Garcia 6-4 3-6 7-5 while Madison Keys moved into the last eight as she fired nine aces on her way to overcoming fourth seed Angelique Kerber 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
American wildcard Amanda Anisimova beat Croatian qualifier Petra Martic 6-4 6-3.
with PA
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