Paris (AFP)

Favorite Simona Halep, 2nd in the world, was swept away in the round of 16 at Roland Garros on Sunday by the young Iga Swiatek (54th) 6-1, 6-2 and in 1h08.

For her first quarter-final in the Grand Slam, Swiatek will face the Italian Martina Trevisan (159th), after qualifying, who created a surprise by eliminating the Dutch Kiki Bertens (8th) 6-4, 6-4.

The 19-year-old Polish woman, who lasted only three quarters of an hour last year against Halep already in 8th for her first participation in the French Open, thus took a resounding revenge.

“I had no experience, it was my first game on a big court, I was very stressed, she recalled. I have made a lot of progress since, because I played a few big matches, against Simona (Halep), Naomi (Osaka), (Caroline) Wozniacki, it helped me a lot and I manage the pressure better now. "

Indeed, Sunday, Swiatek played his luck from start to finish, being very aggressive from the first to the last point.

In particular, she made 30 winning shots and committed only 13 unforced errors.

“Everything worked out today, I was so focused, I surprise myself doing this,” she commented.

Since the start of the tournament, Swiatek has been quick to face all her opponents taken by the throat: in four matches, she has only spent an average of 1:08 on the court and has not yet conceded a single set.

"It's my favorite tournament, I've always loved playing here, in juniors already. It's a dream come true for me this week and I hope it will last longer," added the player, whose best Grand Slam result so far was to have reached the round of 16 three times, at Roland Garros (2019 and 2020) and at the Australian Open (2020).

She had reached her best WTA ranking (48th) after her trip to Melbourne.

At the US Open, she was eliminated in the 3rd round.

For her part, Halep was the tournament favorite, especially in the absence of 2019 winner and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty.

Winner in 2018 and finalist in 2014 and 2017, her status was further strengthened with the eliminations of many competitors such as Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza or Serena Williams.

© 2020 AFP