Simona Halep reaches China Open final, becomes World No.1

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has climbed up to the number one spot for the first time in the WTA rankings after thrashing Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets in the semi-finals of the China Open.

Halep booked her place in the finals of the China Open after registering a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 win over Ostapenko in a one-sided last-four contest that lasted one hour and 15 minutes.

With the win, Halep, who went into the last-four clash on Beijing's outdoor hard courts as world number two, has also taken an avenge of her French Open final defeat to Ostapenko,Sport24 reported.

Halep will now replace Spaniard Garbine Muguruza at the top of the women's game when the official rankings are released on Monday.

The 26-year-old will now cross swords with either France's Caroline Garcia or Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova in the summit showdown in Beijing.

-ANI