Top seed Simona Halep continued her bid for a first grand slam slam title with a clinical 6-2, 6-1, win over 16th seed Elise Mertens in the fourth round of the French Open.
The one-sided performance saw the world No.1 progress to the last eight at Roland Garros for the third time in her career after just 59 minutes of play. Halep’s composed performance on the Philippe Chatrier court saw her hit 16 winners to 13 unforced errors as she converted six out of her nine break point chances. In contrast, Mertens struggled with her serve throughout. Winning only 28% of her second service points.
“It was not as easy as the score shows. It was a tough match (against) a tough opponent.” Said Halep. “I was a little bit nervous before the match, but I enjoyed myself on this court. I think I played my best match at Roland Garros so far.”
“It’s always a pleasure to have this atmosphere on Philippe Chatrier.” She added.
It was very much a case of deja vu for both players following their clash last month at the Madrid Open. Once again, it was the world No.1 that dominated proceedings from the onset against a lacklustre Mertens. Who who had won a trio of WTA titles on the tour this year. It was only three games into the match where Halep first established her dominance. Breaking for a 2-1 lead after a Mertens cross-court forehand drifted out. From then on, the Romanian top seed eased through the first set. Securing a double break before sealing the 6-2 lead with the help of a fiery serve down the centre of the court. An example of the aggressive style Halep has been working on within recent months.
“The is the goal to be more aggressive and try to finish the point.” She explained. “I’m trying to be more aggressive, to be stronger on the court and to stay calm.”
Racing through the second set by claiming five consecutive games, Halep didn’t experience any resistance from Mertens until the very end. Serving for a place in the last eight of the tournament, Mertens battled to her first break point opportunities. Converting one of those to prevent the bagel set. Still, it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the match. Once again Mertens’ downfall concerned her serve as a double fault on match point handed Halep the victory.
Heading into the quarter-finals, Halep has only dropped a total of 20 games in the tournament. She will play either Angelique Kerber or Caroline Garcia in the next round. Although she wasn’t aware of that following her fourth round win.
“I’m not sure who I will play against (in the quarter-finals).” She said.
“I have my coach (Darren Cahill) and he tells me the plan. I’m just relaxing and I will just wait and see how the next round will be.”
Halep, who won the French Open girls’ title back in 2008, now has a winning record of 11-2 when it comes to playing in the fourth round of grand slam tournaments.
