Simona Halep cruised into the second week of Roland Garros with a 6-2 6-1 win over Lesia Tsurenko as she looks to make history in Paris.
The Romanian looked impressive as she cruised into the last 16 after just losing three games to the Ukrainian, who was feeling the effects of her second round match.
History awaits for Halep in the second week as she looks to become the first player for 12 years to successfully defend her title.
Next up for the Romanian will be either Monica Puig or Iga Swiatek.
There was a nervy start from the defending champion despite the one-sided score-line as she struggled on serve early on in the match.
However she improved her level later in the set as she started to be more aggressive on return and really test Tsurenko’s footwork.
Four breaks was enough for the world number three as she took the first set in 26 minutes.
After winning 11-9 in the third in the previous round and having the worst day of her life on her birthday, it seemed like Tsurenko’s body had finally failed her.
A medical time-out on her abdomen at 3-0 down in the second showed that she could no longer keep up with Halep as the Romanian proved too much for Tsurenko.
The love affair continues.@Simona_Halep safely through to the R16 with a 6-2 6-1 win over Tsurenko.#RG19 pic.twitter.com/YYGaK92l4A
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2019
Making History
Now the third seed has her sights set on history as she looks to become the first player since Justine Henin in 2007 to defend her title.
Although Halep may not want to discuss this piece of history, it is something that must be on her mind as the likes of Karolina Pliskova, Kiki Bertens and Elina Svitolina have already crashed out.
Next for Halep will be Monica Puig or Iga Swiatek on Monday.
