Bulgaria's top female tennis player Tsvetana Pironkova was defeated in the 1/8 finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

Pironkova was defeated by top seeded Simona Halep from Romania with 4:6, 3:6, daily Dnevnik reports.

The Bulgarian performed well, but was seemingly exhausted from the previous two matches, which lasted for more than two hours each.

The match started well for Pironkova, who achieved a break in the first game and later established a 3:1 lead.

Halep managed to equalise for 4:4 and after that took the initiative by winning a break and closing the set with 6:4.

The second set started similarly well for Pironkova, who achieved a break in the first game, but the Romanian returned the break immediately in the next game.

Halep made another break to come in the lead with 4:2 and in the end closed the set with 6:3.

This was the first appearance at this stage of the tournament for Pironkova, who will next play in the qualifications of the Qatar Total Open.