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French Open 2020: Imperious teenager Swiatek blows away Halep to reach last eight

Unseeded teenager Iga Swiatek blew away French Open favourite Simona Halep at Roland Garros to reach her first grand slam quarter-final.

By Peter Thompson
IgaSwiatekcropped

Paris, Oct. 4: Unseeded teenager Iga Swiatek thrashed French Open favourite Simona Halep to reach her first grand slam quarter-final at Roland Garros on Sunday.

Halep beat Swiatek 6-1 6-0 at the same stage of the Paris major last year, but the world number 54 from Poland gained sweet revenge with a magnificent 6-1 6-2 victory on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Two-time grand slam champion Halep had won a career-best 17 consecutive matches, but she was bulled by the inspired 19-year-old, who hit 30 winners and did not face a break point in a stunning performance.

Swiatek's reward for a relentless display will be a last-eight showdown with outsider Martina Trevisan or Kiki Bertens in Paris, where the seeds continue to crash out in a women's draw that is wide open.

The aggressive Swiatek made a blistering start, winning the first three games as she pummelled Halep with thunderous groundstrokes - her forehand in particular firing on all cylinders.

Halep had no answer to the relentless Warsaw native, who went 5-1 up with an exquisite drop shot and wrapped up the opening set in just 24 minutes.

Swiatek showed no let-up at the start of the second set, breaking in the first game and unleashing more rasping forehands in a lengthy fifth game before Halep netted at full stretch to go 4-1 down after saving five break points.

Halep was shellshocked and Swiatek completed an astonishing demolition of the 2018 champion, serving out a one-sided match with nerves of steel.

Story first published: Saturday, October 10, 2020, 21:48 [IST]
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