Paris
On a Sunday of upsets at the French Open, revenge was a dish served up in an autumnal chill by a Polish teenager.
Against the player who humbled her 6-1, 6-0 at the same stage last year, Iga Swiatek turned the tables on top-seeded Simona Halep, sending the 2018 champion packing 6-1, 6-2 with powerful groundstrokes and exquisite net play to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Halep, who also won the title at Wimbledon last year, never found her stride on Court Philippe Chatrier and was unable to exert any pressure on the 19-year-old who wilted with nerves in their fourth-round match last year that was over in just 45 minutes.
Halep lasted just 23 minutes longer this time. She never had a break point against her opponent, who racked up 14 against her, breaking her twice in each set and keeping her serve under near-constant stress.
“She was everywhere,” said Halep, who had been on a career-best winning streak of 17 matches. “I will have a chocolate and I will be better tomorrow.”
Adding to a sense that winds of change are blowing across women’s tennis at this pandemic-delayed French Open, Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan ousted fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens moments later, winning 6-4, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
With three Roland Garros debutants — Trevisan, Argentinian qualifier Nadia Podoroska and Paula Badosa of Spain — playing in the fourth round, the French Open’s second week has already been one of new faces.
Podoroska will continue on after beating Barbora Krejcikova, ranked 114th and from the Czech Republic, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The 131st-ranked Podoroska, who lost in the first round at her only previous Grand Slam, the US Open in 2016, will face third-seeded Elina Svitolina from Ukraine. A semifinalist last year at Wimbledon and the US Open, Svitolina advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 win against French player Caroline Garcia.
Halep and Bertens had been among just six seeded women who made the last 16. And sixth-seeded Serena Williams’ pursuit of a record-tying 24th major title ended with an Achilles injury after her first-round win.
“At this level nobody surprises anybody anymore,” Halep said. “Everyone has a big level.” The 159th-ranked Trevisan tossed her racket in delight after sealing her victory with a backhand lob from the baseline that her Dutch foe, who’d been serving to stay in the match, could only watch as it soared over her head and plopped in.—AFP
