Simona Halep blasts past Mertens to Roland Garros QFs

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has qualified for the quarterfinals of the French Open after a straight sets victory over Belgium’s Elise Mertens. The No. 1 WTA tennis player defeated the tournament’s No. 16 seed 6-2, 6-1 in the first match on the Philippe Chatrier court in less than one hour.

Halep breoke Mertens six times, hitting 16 winners and landing 75 percent of her first serves. The Belgian player made 22 unforced errors and managed just 13 winners in the match overall.

Halep will play in the quarterfinals the winner between local hope Caroline Garcia and Germany’s Angelique Kerber.

The Romanian is still looking for her first Grand Slam victory after finishing as runner up in 2014 and 2017.