PARIS, June 4, 2018 (News Wires) - World number one Simona Halep blazed into the French Open quarter-finals by crushing Belgian Elise Mertens 6-2 6-1 as she showed her full range of weapons on Monday. Romanian Halep, twice a runner-up at Roland Garros, started slowly but once she found her groove, there was nothing the 16th seed could do to avoid a one-sided defeat. Halep won the last nine games on Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a meeting with either German Angelique Kerber or local favourite Caroline Garcia. Mertens entered the tournament having won two second-tier events on clay including 16 wins and one defeat, albeit against Halep last month in Madrid when she was comprehensively beaten. The story was the same today as Halep, a French Open finalist in 2014 and 2017, broke for 2-1 in the opening set and never looked back as she outmanoeuvred Mertens, who was sent chasing the ball all over the court. The Belgian pulled a break back in the second set but then trailed 5-0 as the top seed punched a ticket for the last eight when Mertens served a double fault on the first match point. "It was not that easy, she is a tough opponent," said Halep, who is chasing her maiden Grand Slam title. "I was a bit nervous at the start of the match but I played my best match here at Roland Garros. "I need to be more aggressive and try to finish the points because I don't hit so many winners."
