Simona Halep cruises past Tsurenko into French Open last 16

Lesia Tsurenko found the going tough as she lost to reigning French Open champion Simona Halep on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Published : Jun 01, 2019 16:20 IST

Simona Halep in action during her French Open 2019 third round match against Lesia Tsurenko.
Simona Halep in action during her French Open 2019 third round match against Lesia Tsurenko.
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Simona Halep in action during her French Open 2019 third round match against Lesia Tsurenko.

Simona Halep made the most of a shoddy display from Lesia Tsurenko to book her place in round four of the French Open with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph in just 55 minutes.

Reigning champion Halep was taken the distance in her opening two matches at Roland Garros but sailed through against Tsurenko, who was seemingly struggling with injury after requiring three hours and three minutes across two days to see off Aleksandra Krunic in the second round.

The Ukrainian struggled behind her serve and just two holds for Halep – something that may rankle despite the relatively routine win – proved sufficient for her to take the opener.

Follow French Open LIVE: Halep through; Serena, Djokovic, Osaka in action

Tsurenko took a medical time-out after falling 3-0 down in the second set and the third seed showed no mercy as she sealed the victory in confident fashion.

The Ukrainian twice double faulted on break point – she produced three in succession in her second service game – as Halep took a 3-1 lead in the opening set.

Tsurenko was also struggling with her groundstrokes and four straight unforced errors handed Halep another break.

Although Tsurenko hit straight back, she was quickly struggling again and Halep had the set wrapped up when the 27th seed when long with a backhand slice.

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The Romanian broke in the opening game of the second with a searing backhand down the line and took a 5-0 advantage after Tsurenko received treatment on a thigh issue.

Halep had sped through gears and, after being broken to love, completed a rapid triumph with a backhand volley at the net.

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