Dart's Indian Wells adventure ended by dominant Keys

Harriet Dart's Indian Wells adventure came to and end at the hands of big-hitting American Madison Keys on Tuesday.

Dart had already produced stunning wins over world No 18 Elina Svitolina and Kaia Kanepi, but she could not handle the power of the Australian Open semi-finalist and fell to a 6-1 6-4 defeat in the California desert.

The 25-year-old Londoner, who came through qualifying to reach the main draw at one of the biggest events outside the Grand Slams, is guaranteed to break into the top 100 for the first time despite her defeat in the last 16 of the event.

Simona Halep dispatched fellow Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth time.

Former world No 1 Halep, who won the WTA 1000 event seven years ago, cruised through the first set with help from her error-prone opponent.

Cirstea took a 2-0 lead to start the second but the two-time major champion battled back, sealing the win when the world number 27 fired a backhand wide on match point.

A beaming Halep blew a kiss to the television cameras, pumped her fist and waved excitedly to the crowd at Stadium One after winning the Romanian derby.

"It's been a good match," Halep said. "I think I played super good in the first set. The second set I started to miss a little bit. But in the big picture it was a great match and I'm super pleased with the victory.

"I think everybody has a little bit of stress when it's playing against a person that is from the same country. But I can say I'm used to it. I've played so many times with all the Romanians. But with her I didn't play in the last 12 years, so it was something new.

"I feel happy that slowly I find my rhythm. I find the joy being on court, competing, and also fighting for every point I