To add to the line of upsets at the French Open 2020, top seed Simona Halep was knocked out in convincing fashion by a 19-year-old. This ended Halep’s 17-match winning streak and sent her packing from Roland Garros in the fourth round for the first time since 2016. Following her defeat to Iga Swiatek, Halep reflected on her amazing year and moreover reacted to her opponent’s brilliance. 

This is just the second professional meeting between Halep and Swiatek and both of them have come at Roland Garros. While Simona Halep got the better of Switaek last year, it was the Polish athlete who stunned Halep on Sunday. 

Halep could not hold ground with her first serve and was broken four times by Swiatek. On the other hand, Swiatek committed zero double faults throughout the match and raced away with her strong returns.

“All the credit to her [Swiatek], she played unbelievable today and she was everywhere and she hit all the balls in very strong, very powerful…. It was her match today,” Halep said after the defeat. 

It is indeed an incredible achievement for 19-year-old Iga Swiatek to knockout Halep in the fourth round. Beating a former Roland Garros champion 6-1, 6-2 is a commendable feat. 

Simona Halep on her next course of action

Not many would have predicted the #1 seeded Halep to lose in straight sets. However, Swiatek proved to be too dominant and offered no room for Halep to bounce back. 

After the game, Simona Halep looked back at her amazing year in tennis. “It was a fantastic year with all the tough moments that we all had, so I’m not going to ruin the whole year just for a match. Of course it’s not easy to take, but I’m used to some tough moments in this career,” Halep said. 

She then came to a conclusion by saying: “So I will have a chocolate and I will be better tomorrow.” Halep skipped US Open 2020, but went ahead with competing in the Prague Open. She won the tournament and then dominated in Rome to clinch back-to-back WTA titles. 

This will undeniably go down as a shocking loss in Halep’s career. But it shouldn’t deter her from coming back strong. The World No.2 is a tremendous athlete, and we’ve seen her return with a bang after enduring tough losses before.