French Open 2020: Teenager Iga Swiatek ousts top-seed Simona Halep; Nadia Podoroska, Martina Trevisan in quarters

Paris: Top seed and 2018 champion Simona Halep was sent crashing out of Roland Garros on Sunday when Polish teenager Iga Swiatek stormed to a shock 6-1, 6-2 victory to reach the quarter-finals. Swiatek, just 19 and ranked 54 in the world, will take on Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan for a place in the semi-finals. “I am surprised I could do this,” admitted Swiatek after ending the 17-match winning streak of Halep who was the overwhelming favourite in the absence of 2019 champion Ashleigh Barty and US Open winner Naomi Osaka and the injury-enforced withdrawal of Serena Williams. “I felt like I played a great match,” added Swiatek who will be playing in her first quarter-finals at the majors. It was a stunning turnaround for the Pole who won just one game against Halep at the same stage in Paris last year, getting swept off court in just 45 minutes. “Last year I wasn’t experienced enough, it was my first match in a big stadium so I was a little stressed. “But I have made a lot of progress since then, playing girls like Simona, Naomi and Caroline Wozniacki. Now I can handle the pressure.” Swiatek swept through the opening set in just 23 minutes, firing 17 winners to Halep’s four. The teenager tightened her grip, breaking in the first game of the second set with Halep having to fight off four break points in the third game to stay afloat. Swiatek’s assault continued against a player who arrived in Paris with clay court titles in Prague and Rome. Halep, 29, saved five more break points in the fifth game but a weary forehand drifted wide and her Polish opponent was 4-1 up with the cushion of a double break. She took victory on a second match point, ending the tie in 68 minutes on the back of 30 winners and not having allowed Wimbledon champion Halep a single break point. Qualifier Trevisan ’living in a dream’ [caption id=“attachment_8878721” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Martina Trevisan takes on Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of French Open. AP[/caption] Dutch fifth seed Kiki Bertens was dumped out of the French Open when Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan registered a surprise 6-4, 6-4 victory to advance to the quarter-finals. The 26-year-old Trevisan, ranked 159, had not won a Grand Slam main draw match before this tournament. She goes on to face Polish teenager Swiatek. “I’m living in a dream,” said Trevisan, who saved two match points against Maria Sakkari in the third round. “I came here two weeks ago to play my qualifying but today I’m here in the quarter-finals. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it. I’m really honoured to play on this court with Bertens who for me is an incredible player.” Trevisan raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set but dropped serve twice before breaking Bertens for a third time in a lengthy 10th game. The Italian surged 3-0 ahead in the second set but 2016 semi-finalist Bertens again rallied by winning the next three games. Trevisan steadied herself and regained the initiative, failing to serve out the match at 5-3 but wrapping up the biggest win of her career in the following game. Once a promising junior player, reaching the semi-finals in the girls doubles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon over a decade ago, Trevisan’s only other appearance in the main draw of a major came at the Australian Open in January. She recently opened up on her struggles with anorexia which prompted her to spend four years away from tennis. Qualifier Podoroska, ranked 131, in quarters Argentine qualifier Nadia Podoroska, ranked 131 in the world, defeated Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals on Sunday. Podoroska is making her debut in Paris and will face third seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine for a place in the semi-finals. The 23-year-old was the second qualifier to make the last eight on Sunday following Italian World No 159 Martina Trevisan’s win over Dutch fifth seed Kiki Bertens. Podoroska, who was ranked at 255 at the start of the season, has now won 42 matches across all tours in 2020 despite the truncated season and will make her top 100 debut after the tournament. She will now bid to emulate compatriot Paola Suarez who made the semi-finals in Paris in 2004. Three years ago, on her only other visit to Paris, Podoroska fell in the first round of qualifying, losing to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in just 39 minutes, winning just 21 points. Svitolina, meanwhile, reached the quarter-finals for the third time with a 6-1, 6-3 win over France’s Caroline Garcia. Svitolina, the only seed left in her half of the draw following the defeat earlier of top seed Halep, will be desperate to erase the bitter memory of her last run to the last eight in 2017. She led Halep 6-3, 5-1 and had a match point before she suffered a spectacular collapse.