PARIS. – Top seed Simona Halep and fifth seed Kiki Bertens suffered shock fourth-round defeats at the French Open on Sunday, while Alexander Zverev revealed he played with fever and breathing difficulties following his loss to Italian Jannik Sinner.
Halep, a heavy favorite to lift a second title at Roland Garros, was stunned 6-1, 6-2 by Polish teenager Iga Swiatek, who moved into a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time.
Swiatek will next face Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan who secured a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 win over Dutchwoman Bertens.
Losses for Halep and Bertens mean there are only four seeded players remaining in the women’s singles draw– Elina Svitolina, Sofia Kenin, Petra Kvitova and Ons Jabeur.
Sixth seed Zverev was seen coughing on court and admitted he “should not have played” after a 6-, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 defeat by teenager Sinner.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT), which runs the clay court Grand Slam, told Reuters that Zverev last tested for COVID-19 on Sept. 29 and the test returned a negative result the following day.
Twelve-time champion Rafa Nadal raced into another quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory over American qualifier Sebastian Korda.
US Open champion Dominic Thiem survived a scare as he edged out French wildcard Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3.
