Halep beats Venus, sets up showdown with Serena

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Simona Halep beat one Williams sister at the Australian Open and now will face the other.

The No. 1-seeded Halep, last year's runner-up at Melbourne Park, reeled off six consecutive games in one stretch and ended up beating Venus Williams 6-2, 6-3 in the third round.

Next for Halep is a showdown against 23-time major champion Serena Williams with a quarterfinal berth at stake.

Says Halep: ''It's going to be a bigger challenge. I am ready to face it.''

After two tough three-set tussles in Australia, Halep had a much easier time of things Saturday and made only 12 unforced errors, while Venus made 33. Halep played with her left thigh taped, but moved around the court well.

For Venus, this is the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament she exits before the fourth round.