Fourth seed Simona Halep beat Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets 6-2 6-2 to secure a place in the second round of the WTA China Open on a rain-hit day in Beijing.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the ninth-seeded Russian, is also through after she saw off Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-1 7-5.

No.10 seed Dominika Cibulkova is out after the Slovakian lost 6-2 5-7 6-2 to Alize Cornet of France, while Roberta Vinci, the Italian 13th-seed, was defeated 6-3 6-2 by Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

There was success for home player Shuai Zhang who beat American Alison Riske 6-3 4-6 7-6 (4).

As the rain began to impact the schedule, Petra Kvitova won 10 of the last 12 games under the roof of the National Tennis Stadium as the 14th-seeded Czech saw off Yafan Wang of China 6-4 6-1 to set up a showdown with French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, the current title holder.

The weather meant frustration for 11th seed Johanna Konta, the British No.1, as her match against Hungarian Timea Babos was postponed until Wednesday.

Top seed Angelique Kerber will also be in action when she plays Barbora Strycova, while Kvitova will meet Muguruza in the third match at the National Tennis Stadium.