Romanian Simona Halep, the 2018 French Open champion, and American Danielle Collins are the latest big figures to disappear from the women’s singles at Roland Garros, and Halep admitted that he suffered a bout of panicked during his shock defeat to Chinese Qinwen Zheng.
Key points:
- Simona Halep called for medical staff twice during the third set of her match against 19-year-old Chinese star Qinwen Zheng
- The two-time Grand Slam winner told the media that she suffered a rare panic attack from which she could not recover.
- Halep is the latest big name to come out of Roland Garros, with American Danielle Collins also losing on Friday.
The two-time Grand Slam winner appeared to control her game on Friday, grabbing the first set and advancing with a break.
However, after Zheng claimed the second set and started dominating the third, Halep called the coach and they took his pulse and blood pressure.
The 30-year-old Romanian was given permission to continue, but never seemed comfortable in front of the 19-year-old, struggling to breathe and asking for doctors again before falling to a 2-6, 6-2, 6. -1 loss.
Halep immediately left the court with the medical staff before confronting the media again, where he admitted that he had a panic attack during the match that he could not control.
“He was playing well in the beginning. I had a break in the second set, but then something happened. I just lost him,” he said.
“I did not expect it [that] because it was just a panic attack.
“I didn’t know how to handle it, because I don’t have it often. I’m not sure why it happened, because he was leading the game. He was playing well. But it happened. I couldn’t. I didn’t focus.”
Halep was later fired by medical staff and said it did not seem like a prolonged problem.
Halep was treated by medical staff during the match, and admitted that she later suffered a panic attack. (Getty Images: Clive Brunskill)
“After the game it was pretty hard, but I’m fine now. I’m recovered and I’ll learn from this episode,” he said.
“It’s just a tennis match, so I have to watch it a little more relaxed. [I] it was probably putting too much pressure on me, because I really wanted to do it right.
“I felt good. I practice, I work hard. But it didn’t happen and I probably had a little panic during that thought, an excess of thought.
“It’s a normal thing everyone has. I’ll be better off next time, for sure. I don’t have these things, so it was new to me.
“I knew I just had to calm down, because the doctors checked everything. Everything was perfect. It’s not really a reason, just [in the] ment “.
Australian Open finalist and ninth seed Danielle Collins was eliminated from the tournament by compatriot Shelby Rogers after a 6-4, 6-3 loss, while number eight was eliminated. , Karolina Pliskova and number 13 Jelena Ostapenko also suffered shocking defeats.
So fast has been the start of the first women’s seeding that only three of the top 10 remain: Iga Świątek (1), Paula Badosa (3) and Aryna Sabalenka (7).
Loading
Poland’s Świątek – the world number one and in the form of her life – beat American Alison Riske 6-0, 6-2 to take her 30-game winning streak.
It is the longest winning career in women’s tennis since Serena Williams won 34 in a row in 2013.
Spain’s Badosa reached the third round by beating Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan 7-5, 3-6 and 6-2, while Sabalenka needed just 62 minutes to beat Madison Brengle 6-1, 6- 3.
Madison Keys justified her 22nd place finish when she advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.
The American, Roland Garros semifinalist in 2018, will then face No. 16 seed Elena Rybakina, the only woman with more aces than Keys this season.
AAP / ABC
Posted 46 minutes ago 46 minutes ago Thu, May 26, 2022 at 10:09 PM, updated 40 minutes ago, 40 minutes ago, Thu, May 26, 2022 at 10:15 PM