Romanian tennis star Simona Halep continued her excellent run on American soil beating the local rising star Sloane Stephens on Wednesday night in two straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.

Halep thus made it to the semifinals of the Miami Open, where she will again meet the world’s number one player Serena Williams, who won a three-set match against Germany's Sabine Lisiki.

The semifinal, which was programmed to take place on Thursday night, is the sixth match between Halep and Williams. Serena has won four of their previous five matches, but Simona managed to stun the American by beating her in the group stage of the WTA Finals in Singapore in two sets 6-0, 6-2. Williams took her revenge in the final of the competition, where she beat Halep 6-3, 6-0.

"I'll remember beating her all my life because it was such a good match for me," Halep said on Wednesday. "I have to believe I can win again against her - I just have to go out there and believe I have a chance.”

Williams and Halep were set to have their first meeting in 2015 two weeks ago in the semifinals of Indian Wells, but Williams withdrew before the match due to a knee injury. Halep won the Indian Wells tournament, this being the best performance of her career so far.

editor@romania-insider.com