Top-seeded Halep exits on day of upsets
PARIS— On a Sunday of upsets among the women at the French Open, revenge was a dish served up in an autumnal chill by a Polish teenager.
And it was only partially business as usual for the men. Rafael Nadal advanced, but his opponent in his 14th quarterfinal at Roland Garros will be dangerous debutant Jannik Sinner. By making the men’s last eight as a newcomer, the 19-year-old Italian matched a feat last achieved by Nadal himself, in 2005, on his march to the first of his 12 titles in Paris.
So impressive has Sinner been on the clay that his 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win against U.S. Open finalist Alexander Zverev hardly seemed like an upset, despite the 68-spot gulf separating them in tour rankings. Sinner pulled the sixth-seeded German this way and that with precision groundstrokes and unfurled his wingspan to make 21 winners at the net.
Zverev said he was sick, so feverish and short of breath that “I shouldn’t have played.” Sinner said that from his side of the net, his opponent seemed “quite OK, you know, because in the third and fourth set, he was running quite a lot.”
Although Nadal and Sinner have practised together, their match will be the first between the 34-year-old and the youngest man in a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Novak Djokovic in 2006. “A big challenge,” Nadal said. “Amazing potential.”
Against the player who humbled her 6-1, 6-0 at the same stage last year, 19-year-old 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 Wimbledon last year, was unable to exert any pressure on the nowconfident Polish player who wilted with nerves in their fourth-round clash last year that was over in 45 minutes. Swiatek used that defeat as fuel.
That upset was followed by another moments later. Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan ousted fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens, winning 6-4, 6-4. Swiatek and Trevisan will now play each other in what will be a first Grand Slam quarterfinal for them both.
Halep and Bertens had been among just six seeded women in round four. “At this level, nobody surprises anybody anymore,” said Halep.