RG Day 12 Surprises: Anisimova, Barty set up semifinal

By Nina PanticPublished June 06, 2019

Each day of Roland Garros, Baseline will sum up the action with a photo gallery of the top surprises.

Barty Breaks Through

TOPSHOT - Australia's Ashleigh Barty serves the ball to Madison Keys of the US during their women's singles quarter-final match on day twelve of The Roland Garros 2019 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 6, 2019. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

Ashleigh Barty put together a near-flawless performance to beat Madison Keys, 6-3, 7-5 and reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. Three years ago, on June 6, 2016, the 23-year-old returned to the rankings at No. 623 after a hiatus from tennis. She'll make her Top 5 debut this coming Monday.

Teen Queen

Amanda Anisimova of the US celebrates after winning against Romania's Simona Halep at the end of their women's singles quarter-final match on day twelve of The Roland Garros 2019 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 6, 2019. (Photo by Martin BUREAU / AFP) (Photo credit should read MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

Amanda Anisimova dismantled defending champion Simona Halep, 6-2, 6-4. Her relentless pressure on Halep was impressive, even more so after she admitted to a preparation flub. After sleeping during the rain delay on Wednesday, she went on a shopping adventure for off-white Nike shoes in traffic.

"Then when I got there—I was driving for, like, a total of two hours," the 17-year-old said. "And then I didn't get them, and I was like, Wow, that was a bad idea. Why am I exhausting myself right now?"

Keep Calm and Simona On

Romania's Simona Halep holds balls during her women's singles quarter-final match against Amanda Anisimova of the US, on day twelve of The Roland Garros 2019 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 6, 2019. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

After Simona Halep was ousted by Anisimova, she didn't freak out. Instead, she remained calm... really, really calm. The world No. 3 was asked about her grass-court season plans.

"I will not do something special. I will just keep my routine, and I will try to get ready as much as possible for Wimbledon," she said. "Hopefully I can make a good result. But no, no pressure. This year is a "chill" year for me."

New Champ Coming

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 06: Johanna Konta of Great Britain trains during Day twelve of the 2019 French Open at Roland Garros on June 06, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) — © Getty Images

With Halep losing on Thursday, a new women's Grand Slam champion is guaranteed at Roland Garros. The semifinals on Friday will see 19-year-old Marketa Vondrousova take on Johanna Konta, and Anisimova face Barty. Anisimova and Barty have never played each other before, while Konta beat Vondrousova in Rome last month. Given the fact that the season started with 18 different champions, this sort of ending in Paris is only right.

Anticlimatic Clinics

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns the ball to Germany's Alexander Zverev during their men's singles quarter-final match on day twelve of The Roland Garros 2019 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 6, 2019. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

The men's quarterfinals on Thursday both went handily the way of the favorites. Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic lost nearly the same number of games to set up a semifinal against each other. Thiem eased past Karen Khachanov, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, and Novak Djokovic dismissed Alexander Zverev, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after the German had a chance to serve out the first set. It's been seven years since Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have been in a Grand Slam semifinal together.

Follow Nina on Twitter @ninapantic1.