Maria is through to the second round of the China Open in Beijing after she defeated Simona Halep of Romania. Maria won 7-5 7-5 in an hour and 52 minutes.

On serve, Maria had a first serve percentage of 69% and won 62% of points on first serve and 56% on second serve. Maria broke Halep's serve six times and won six of eight break points (75%). Maria had 33 winners to 39 unforced errors.

After the match, Maria said: "Certainly the scoreline was quite difficult, but I was up in those two sets and let her get back into it. I put myself in a position in both sets, going up a break, and it wasn't the best thing to let her back in - but the good thing was I regained my focus and won that match, no matter how well she was playing and coming back. At the end of the day I'm happy I won in two sets."

Maria will face world No.29 Sorana Cirstea of Romania in the second round on Wednesday. Maria has never played the 22-year-old before.

In the rankings, Maria remains No.2 with 8515 points.