Polish teenager Iga Swiatek shocked top seed and 2018 champion Simona Halep to reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals where she will face Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan as the tournament took another dramatic twist on Sunday.
Swiatek, just 19 and ranked 54 in the world, triumphed 6-1, 6-2 on the back of 30 winners and not allowing 2018 winner Halep a single break point.
"I am surprised I could do this," admitted Swiatek after ending the 17-match winning streak of Halep who was the overwhelming favorite in the absence of 2019 champion Ashleigh Barty and U.S. Open winner Naomi Osaka and the injury-enforced withdrawal of Serena Williams.
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 the 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 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 claycourt 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.
"I didn't lose that match, Iga won it," said Halep.
Swiatek's victory was quickly followed by another surprise when Trevisan registered a 6-4, 6-4 victory over fifth seed Kiki Bertens, a semifinalist in 2016.
The 26-year-old Trevisan, ranked 159, is the first qualifier to make the last eight since Yaroslava Shvedova in 2012.
