Updated

Defending champion Roberta Vinci was among Wednesday's upset victims at the $220,000 Barcelona Ladies Open.

Romanian Simona Halep drove out the fourth-seeded Vinci 6-1, 6-3 in second- round action on the red clay at Centre Municipal de Tenis Vall d'Hebron.

Vinci topped Czech Lucie Hradecka in last year's finale, marking her second title here in three years and her third straight trip into the Barcelona final. Vinci was the 2010 runner-up here to former French Open champ and fellow Italian Francesca Schiavone, this year's top seed who lost on Tuesday.

Another second-round upset came when Spanish crowd favorite Carla Suarez Navarro defeated sixth-seeded Czech Petra Cetkovska, 6-2, 6-4. Suarez Navarro will battle Halep in Friday's quarterfinals.

Seventh-seeded Italian Sara Errani avoided a second-round upset by blasting Spanish lucky-loser Estrella Cabeza Candela, 6-0, 6-2.

A first-round upset came when Romanian Sorana Cirstea doused eighth-seeded Slovenian Polona Hercog 6-4, as Hercog retired after the first set complaining of dizziness.

This week's winner will claim $37,000.