Eastbourne Highlights: Bertens battles past Sabalenka in quarterfinal

EASTBOURNE, England (AP) — Defending Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber beat Simona Halep for the first time since 2016, winning their quarterfinal at Eastbourne 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.

Kerber converted five of seven break points to reach the semifinals for the second straight tournament following her first-round elimination at the French Open.

The fourth-seeded Kerber moved to a 5-6 career record against the Romanian.

Kerber will play Ons Jabeur in the semifinals after the Tunisian recovered from a slow start to beat Alize Cornet 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova blasted past Ekaterina Alexandrova in just 54 minutes, firing 22 winners on her way to a 6-2, 6-0 victory. She will meet third-seeded Kiki Bertens who advanced with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka.

In the men's draw, third-seeded Kyle Edmund won an all-British quarterfinal against Dan Evans 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. His next opponent is Taylor Fritz, who eliminated Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Sam Querrey beat fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (4), 6-2 to set up a semifinal with qualifier Thomas Fabbiano, who upset Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3.

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