Halep, Kerber deliver in Doha
Top seed Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber moved into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open but Karolina Pliskova was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a viral illness.
Halep will move above Petra Kvitova to go second in the rankings next Monday following a 6-2 6-3 victory over Lesia Tsurenko in Doha on Wednesday, setting up a meeting with Julia Goerges.
Three-time grand slam champion Kerber joined Halep in the last eight, knocking out Anett Kontaveit with a 6-1 7-6 (7-3) win in the final match of the day.
Pliskova, the 2017 champion, withdrew a day after Caroline Wozniacki also pulled out due to illness, with the former replaced in the draw by her sister, Kristyna, who was beaten by Elise Mertens.
Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens, Karolina Muchova and Barbora Strycova also made it through.
