French Open 2022: Simona Halep crashes out in three sets to Chinese teenager Qinwen Zheng

ByAlex Livie

Updated 26/05/2022 at 16:52 GMT

Simona Halep has started to work with Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou. It is early days in the relationship and she was sent crashing out of the French Open by the 19-year-old Qinwen Zheng who battled back from a set down to secure the win. Stream the 2022 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.

Simona Halep crashed out of the French Open at the hands of Qinwen Zheng who secured a 2-6 6-2 6-1 win.

The Romanian is in the early stages of her association with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, a move Eurosport expert Mats Wilander will be of benefit to Halep.

Any changes - it is not a case of reinventing the wheel - are likely to take time to bed in and Halep was humbled in three sets on Thursday - albeit she had the trainer out on court on a couple of occasions in the third set and did not appear at 100%.

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There were no signs of the troubles that were to follow as Halep eased through the opening set, as she dominated play from the back of the court.

After losing her serve at the start of the second, Zheng gained a foothold in the second and began to trade effective blows with Halep.

The Chinese player secured a break midway through the second, and Halep’s game unravelled.

The No. 19 seed began to rush her play, sprayed the ball wildly and a love break of serve ensured Zheng took the match to a deciding set.

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Zheng was able to impart tremendous topspin on the ball, and Halep at times was forced to play deep behind the baseline with the ball way over shoulder height. But as well as the spin, Zheng also had the ability to flatten out the play and a crunching backhand down the line secured an early break of serve in the third.

At 3-0 down in the third, Halep called the trainer and had her pulse and blood pressure taken - suggesting all was not well. A medical timeout was not required and after the small delay, Halep held serve to snap a run of eight Zheng games and keep herself in the match.

The 19-year-old Zheng’s serve is a huge weapon and she held in confident fashion, which was a positive sign after the delay and a Halep hold.

Halep continued to struggle with her breathing and she was left on her haunches by a glorious drop shot, which led to a break of serve one point later.

That put Zheng within one game of the third round, and she showed no signs of nerves as she impressively served out victory - closing out the match with a magnificent forehand.

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Watch the French Open live on Eurosport and discovery+.

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