By Erik Gudris | Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Top seed Simona Halep was one of the few players who enjoyed a straightforward win at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

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Halep faced little resistance from Daniela Hantuchova in their second round match. Hantuchova was fresh off having won a title last weekend in Pattaya City. But her non-stop traveling just to get to Dubai this week and having played a first round match appeared to catch with Hantuchova.

The result - Halep walked away with a 6-2, 6-0 win in 73 minutes. Halep will next face Tsvetana Pironkova who upset No. 16 seed Shuai Peng 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).

No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova started off slow but finished strong in her second round match. Elina Svitolina took advantage early by taking the opening set 6-2. Yet when Kvitova found her game at last in the second set, things swung in favor of the Wimbledon champion.

Kvitova fought off a late surge from Svitolina in the final set to close out the 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.

Heat and injuries played factors in several testing battles earlier in the day.

No. 3 seed Caroline Wozniacki found herself calling for a trainer after dropping the opening set to Sam Stosur. After Wozniacki had a knee issue sorted out, the Dane charged past Stosur in claiming the second set and opening up a 5-2 lead in the third.

The match of the day wasn't decided yet as Wozniacki proceeded to drop serve twice, once at love, to let Stosur back in at 5-all. Wozniacki broke Stosur but struggled to close out the match again before finally doing so 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

No. 5 seed Aganieszka Radwanska struggled with the heat and a determined opponent in France's Caroline Garcia before she secured a tough 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win.

Seeded players Ana Ivanovic, Ekaterina Makarova, and Angelique Kerber also advanced. Zarina Diyas upset recent Antwerp winner No. 9 seed Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-3.