By Chris Oddo | Friday, March 13, 2015

 

Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska moved closer to a quarterfinal meeting, as both notched second-round wins on Friday in the desert.

Photo Source: Harry How/Getty

Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska moved closer to a potential quarterfinal clash at the BNP Paribas Open, as each notched second-round wins on Day 3.

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Radwanska was first to move through as she cruised past American Alison Riske in the day’s first match on Stadium 1, 6-3, 6-1. Radwanska broke five times on 12 opportunities and took the first four games in each set to win her first meeting with the American.

Radwanska, a finalist last year at Indian Wells, will face Heather Watson in the third round.

Third-seeded Halep struggled in the early going but recovered nicely to get past Daria Gavrilova, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Halep, a semifinalist last year, is making her fifth appearance in the desert. Halep will face Sachia Vickery or Varvara Lepchenko in the third round.

Despite a slow start, Halep said she is fully recovered from the rib injury that bothered her last month. She also said that she likes the conditions in the southern California desert. "I feel good on these courts,” said Halep. “Last year I played semis, so I’m confident on this surface.”

Elsewhere on Day 3 at Indian Wells, Karolina Pliskova stayed hot with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Lara Arruabarrena, and eighth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova moved past Elina Vesnina 6-4, 6-0.

Elina Svitolina, Zarina Diyas and Timea Baczinsky were also winners.