Maria Sharapova maintained her unbeaten run against Romania's Simona Halep with a straight sets victory in a thrilling round robin contest at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.
The Russian world number one claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win over Halep to inch closer to secure a last four berth at the eight women end-of-season finals.
Although Sharapova held a 5-1 commanding lead in the second set, Halep produced a spirited fightback to reduce the gap to 5-4. However, the Russian broke one last time to seal the victory.
Sharapova will next face U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta, who had announced that she would retire after the tournament.
