China Open 2019: Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep Among Stars to Advance on Sunday

Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep were among those to advance at the 2019 China Open in Beijing on Sunday.

On a day without any major upsets, the pair came through their matches unscathed, while Sloane Stephens also progressed in straight sets.

Elina Svitolina had to come from behind against Anastasija Sevastova, though, while Venus Williams needed three sets to get past Barbora Strycova, as did Angelique Kerber against Zhang Shuai.

Here's a selection of the results from Sunday's play:

(4) Naomi Osaka bt. Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (5)

(6) Simona Halep bt. Rebecca Peterson, 6-1, 6-1

(3) Elina Svitolina bt. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-2

(13) Sloane Stephens bt. Magda Linette, 7-5, 6-3

(10) Angelique Kerber bt. Zhang Shuai, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

Venus Williams bt. Barbora Strycova, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

Full results can be found at the WTA's website, while the full draw for the event can be found here.

Sunday Recap

Sevastova won her most most recent meeting with Svitolina at last year's U.S. Open, and she edged out Svitolina in a tiebreaker after a hard-fought first set.

The Ukrainian produced an emphatic response in the second, playing some excellent tennis along the way:

The No. 3 seed maintained her momentum into the decider, too, with a set almost as one-sided as the second.

Osaka looked as though she was set to run away with her match early on as she raced to a 5-1 lead over Pegula.

The American broke the two-time Grand Slam winner in her first attempt at serving out the set, though, stunning her opponent with two impressive backhand winners.

Although that would only prove a stay of execution in the first set, an improved Pegula capitalised on some looser play from Osaka to give the 21-year-old a tougher time in the second.

Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press

She came close to forcing a third set when she won four consecutive points in the tiebreaker to take the lead from 4-1 down, but an ace from Osaka and a pair of unforced errors sealed the Japanese player's progression.

Halep retired from the Wuhan Open on Wednesday with a back problem, but she was back in action on Sunday against Rebecca Peterson.

Peterson did have five break-point opportunities but failed to convert any of them, with the scoreline ultimately illustrating a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 victory:

The Wimbledon champion said she is not back to full fitness yet, though:

Williams had to survive a spirited fightback from Strycova in her match.

The 39-year-old was easing her way to victory at 4-2 up in the second set, having won the first 6-3, but Strycova rattled off five consecutive games to force a decider and subsequently go 1-0 up.

Williams edged out the Czech player 7-5 in the third set, though, to set up a tie with No. 9 seed Belinda Bencic in the next round.