Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. celebrates winning her quarterfinal over Romania's Simona Halep. (Christophe Ena/AP)
PARIS — A 17-year-old American with a huge game and zero fear ousted defending French Open champion Simona Halep in straight sets Thursday at Roland Garros.
New Jersey-born Amanda Anisimova needed just 68 minutes to upset Halep, 6-2, 6-4, earning a spot in Friday’s semifinals, where she’ll face eighth-seeded Ashleigh Barty of Australia, who dismissed American Madison Keys, 6-3, 7-5 just minutes later on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Anisimova had never played on the French Open’s showcase court, 15,000-seat Stade Philippe Chatrier, or reached the quarterfinals of a major. Nonetheless, in her first meeting with Halep, a former world No. 1, the American was a portrait of power, confidence and efficiency.
Anisimova played in the French Open junior girls tournament just two years ago.
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There was a sadly sparse crowd on hand to witness the biggest victory of her young career.
Wednesday’s rainout, in which not a single match in the tournament’s main draw was contested, created a logjam of matches Thursday and forced officials to move up the start of matches by two hours.
Halep and Anisimova, wearing identical Nike tops and skirts, stepped onto Chatrier at noon. With each knotting her long hair in a bun that sprouted atop a visor, only their five-inch difference in height made it easy to tell them apart. Halep is 5-feet-6; Anisimova, 5-11.
Later Thursday, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will attempt to earn a spot in the semifinals when he takes on fifth-seed Alexander Zverev of Germany.
The other rain-delayed men’s quarterfinal will pit Dominic Thiem against Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
The men who advance face a tough slog, with the prospect of playing three best-of-five-sets matches in four days. They’ll contest the semifinals on Friday, while the other two semifinalists, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, will have enjoyed two days’ rest.
Barring further rain delays, the men’s final will be held Sunday.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/06/06/amanda-anisimova-upsets-defending-french-open-champion-simona-halep-quarterfinals/
2019-06-06 11:32:08Z
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