Fourth seed Simona Halep has continued her impressive run at the Australian Open by downing Belgian Elise Mertens 6-4 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals.

The two-time major winner from Romania won six straight games from midway through the opening set through to 3-0 in the second set to take control of the contest against 16th-seeded Mertens.

Halep – the losing finalist two years ago at Melbourne Park – will play either No.28 seed Anett Kontaveit from Estonia or Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals.