Simona-Halep

MASON, Ohio — Simona Halep rallied after dropping the first set to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 Wednesday in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.

The Wimbledon champion fought off two break points in the eighth game of the third set and then broke Alexandrova to serve for the match.

Elina Svitolina, a Wimbledon semifinalist, easily reached the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Elise Mertens.

On the men’s side, sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori lost to Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (2), 6-4.

Nishikori became the seventh-seeded man and the 15th out of 32 seeds in the men’s and women’s draws to either lose or withdraw during the first two rounds. That includes No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal (fatigue) and No. 8 Serena Williams (back injury).