World No.1 Simona Halep has shrugged off concerns about her injured ankle, breezing into the third round of the Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Eugenie Bouchard.
Halep was in clinical touch on Margaret Court Arena, dispatching the Canadian 6-2 6-2 in one hour and five minutes to set up a date with unseeded American Lauren Davis.
The Romanian broke Bouchard's serve seven times and was dominant in the groundstroke battle, winning 44 points at the baseline compared to her opponent's 17.
Halep, who is coached by Australian Darren Cahill, had needed a medical time-out after badly twisting her left ankle during her second-round win over local wildcard Destanee Aiava.
The 26-year-old displayed no ill effects in a dominant performance against former world No.5 Bouchard but admitted afterwards that her ankle was still causing her pain.
"I'm really happy that I can play third round again here," Halep said.
"Now I just want to enjoy the time, even if I'm a little bit injured.
"I played very well and I moved very well. I feel the pain but I didn't think about it. I just wanted to play the match and win it, and I think I did it great."
An ankle injury proved to be Halep's undoing when she met Bouchard in the semi-final at Wimbledon in 2014.
Bouchard went on to lose to Petra Kvitova in the final and has not advanced beyond the third round of a grand slam since reaching the final 16 at the 2015 US Open.
Along with title favourite Elina Svitolina, Halep is a leading contender to claim her first grand slam title.
A streak of upsets in the opening week has left Maria Sharapova, Angelique Kerber and Jelena Ostapenko as the only major winners left in the women's field.
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