Retirement eases Halep into Indian Wells quarters

Omnisports 00:23 - 16 March 2016

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Simona Halep has won through to the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals for a third-straight year after Barbora Strycova retired at the start of their second set.

Halep, who is defending the crown after taking out the tournament last year, was 6-3 1-0 up before her Czech opponent retired through injury.

Strycova called a medical timeout at the end of the first set and attempted to get back on the court, but ended her run at the fourth round after just one game of the second set.

The retirement brought an end to an error-strewn match which left plenty to be desired for fifth seed Halep.

The Romanian hit 16 unforced errors during her win, which she will need to drastically improve on if she is to progress to the semi-finals with Serena Williams a potential last-eight opponent.