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Iga Swiatek stuns top seed Simona Halep as French Open shocks continue

Iga Swiatek celebrates defeating Simona Halep - SHUTTERSTOCK
Iga Swiatek celebrates defeating Simona Halep - SHUTTERSTOCK

The 19-year-old Pole Iga Swiatek (pronounced Shvee-ontek) gives her interviews in a quavering voice that suggests she is either in mortal terror or about to burst into tears. On the court, though, she is contrastingly sassy and self-assured.

Drawn on Court Philippe Chatrier against Simona Halep – the French Open’s top seed and runaway favourite – Swiatek bossed her more famous opponent with a blend of thunderous groundstrokes and delicate drop-shots. Halep managed only three games in her 6-1, 6-2 defeat, and went away sounding as much perplexed as disappointed.

“Of course it's not easy to take it,” said Halep, who has not entered the one remaining WTA tournament of the season, staged in Ostrava from Oct 12. “But I'm used to some tough moments in this career. So I will have a chocolate and I will be better tomorrow.”

There was a curious symmetry to the result, because Halep had met Swiatek at the same stage of this tournament last year – the fourth round – and handed out an even more one-sided 6-1, 6-0 beatdown. Swiatek has since described that result as “a big lesson”, and worked on improving her poise on the biggest stages with her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz.

“She was a sailor,” Swiatek said, “so she has experience in sports and as a coach so she has full package. I’m really glad that I wasn't in a final of French Open last year because I think the pressure would be too big. I like that I have time to grow up. It's perfect for me doing it one step after another.”

This remark makes it sound as if Swiatek is already expecting to reach the trophy match. And why not? Her opponent in the quarter-finals will be Martina Trevisan, the little-known Italian ranked No 159. As for the other two players in the top half of the draw, Elina Svitolina might be the third seed but she has been a grand-slam underachiever, while Nadia Podoroska is the world No 131.

Swiatek was not the only teenager to move into the quarter-finals on Sunday, as another 19 year-old – Italy’s Jannik Sinner – ejected the recent US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev from the men’s draw in four sets. It was a breakthrough moment for Sinner, who came into this event with just a single grand-slam victory to his name, and will now play defending champion Rafael Nadal. But Zverev took a little shine away by admitting afterwards that he shouldn’t have played because of illness.

“I’m completely sick,” said Zverev. “I can't really breathe, as you can hear by my voice. I had fever as well. I'm not in the best physical state, I would say. I think that had a little bit of an effect on the match today.

“He plays well,” added Zverev, when asked about Sinner’s punishing forehand. “But I didn't do anything today. I was just putting the ball in the court. I think it's quite easy to hit the ball so hard when I'm letting him do that.”

Sinner’s background is unusual – and interesting in the context of last week’s debate on British junior development – as he was a young ski champion who only turned seriously to tennis at the exceptionally late age of 12. In terms of style, his relentless pounding from the baseline is hypnotically repetitive, as if he were Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T800 armed with a tennis racket.

“I am quite calm,” said Sinner, whose origins in South Tyrol mean that he speaks German as well as Italian. “So even if inside I'm very happy, I don't show that so much.”