WUHAN - World number five Simona Halep downed Madison Keys in the quarter finals of the Wuhan Open Thursday to book her place in the elite season-end WTA Final for the third consecutive year.

Big serving Keys took an early lead in the first set, breaking the Romanian's serve twice, but was unable to maintain the momentum as Halep equalled and then took the set 6-4. Halep -- who turned 25 this week -- dropped just two games to take the second set and confirm her place in the eight-player season finale in Singapore.

Only world number one Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams have so far qualified for the highly lucrative tournament, and the field remains wide open for the remaining five spots. "It's amazing to be qualified again for Singapore three years in a row. It's a good thing. It gives me confidence," Halep told reporters after the quarter final match.

In a similar style to Kerber, Halep plays off the strength of big hitters like Williams and Keys, who is often cast as the American veteran's successor. "She can hit very strong. She can miss some easy balls," the Romanian said of her quarter final opponent. I don't (have) big shots, but I have speed on the court... I like to take the ball fast. So when I do that, I think I can play at the highest level," she added.

With Williams having taken only one Grand Slam title this year and slipped from her long-held number one spot in the rankings, Halep said earlier this week that she feels she now has a shot at the top. "Every Grand Slam was another winner, Kerber two times this year. I feel now (it) is more open. I feel that I have (a) bigger chance," said the Romanian, who ended last season as world number two but is yet to win a Slam.

Halep will meet two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the semi-finals after she ended a strong run by Briton Johanna Konta in straight sets. Meanwhile, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova squashed Agnieszka Radwanska's hopes of qualifying for Singapore this week when she came from a set down to set up a semi-final meet with Dominika Cibulkova.

KYRGIOS FALLS IN CHENGDU UPSET: Second seed and world number 15 Nick Kyrgios went down at the Chengdu Open Thursday, as South African Kevin Anderson saved two match points in an upset 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2.

The 203 cm (6'8") 30-year-old South African smashed 24 aces in the three-set duel, battling back from an early loss to win a place in the quarter-finals against sixth seed Viktor Troicki. Anderson has a 2-1 record in head-to-head play against the Serbian, who wore down an exhausted Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, dispatching the Cypriot to earn his sixth trip to the ATP World Tour quarter-finals of the season.

Former Australian Open finalist Baghdatis had fought an epic three-hour contest with Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta the day before. Fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas took two-and-a-half hours to overcome 33-year-old Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan, who took him to three sets, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4.  Lu had more aces than the Spaniard and a higher percentage of break points saved, but Ramos-Vinolas edged him on the percentage of second-serve points won (53 percent).