Tennis: Irina Begu qualifies for round of sixteen of Indian Wells tennis tournament

Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified on Wednesday for the round of 16 of the WTA 125 K Series Indian Wells tournament, with a total prize pool of 162,480 US dollars, after scoring a very clear victory against US Taylor Townsend, 6-0, 6-2.

Begu (29 years old, WTA's 104th) sealed her victory in just 55 minutes against the 4th seeded (23 years old, WTA's 70th).

Townsend had won the their first encounter in 2017, in Cincinnati, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-3, in the first round of the tournament.

Begu secured a cheque worth 2,580 US dollars and 15 WTA points for reaching this far in the competition, and she is set to meet another representative of the US in the round of sixteen, namely Kristie Ahn (27 years, WTA's 98th).

Patricia Tig, 10th seeded, withdrew from the tournament for medical reasons.