GUANGZHOU: Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic defeated top seed Simona Halep in straight sets in quarter-final play on Thursday in the WTA Guangzhou International Women’s Open.

Unseeded Allertova pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far, beating the Romanian 6-4, 6-3. Halep was defeated in the semi-finals of the US Open this month by eventual champion Flavia Pennetta of Italy. In another upset, unseeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium defeated Romania’s Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-2.

Sara Errani overwhelmed No 8 seed Zheng Saisai, China’s top player, 6-1, 6-0, leaving no more Chinese singles players in the event. And in the only battle of seeded players, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia defeated fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-2, 7-5. Players are battling for prize money of $250,000.