Panic attack proves turning point in Simon Halep defeat at French Open

Former Wimbledon and French Open champion Simona Halep revealed she suffered a panic attack during her second-round defeat to Zheng Qinwen at Roland Garros.

Romanian Halep, the 19th seed, was leading her teenage opponent from China when she called for the doctor.

After falling to a 2-6 6-2 6-1 defeat, Halep said: "I didn't expect it because it was just a panic attack. It happened.

"I didn’t know how to handle it, because I don’t have it often. Yeah, I don’t really know why it happened, because I was leading the match. I was playing well.

"But it just happened and I lost it. I couldn’t focus. After the match it was pretty tough. But now I’m good. I’m recovered and I will learn from this episode.

"It was nothing like dangerous, in my opinion, but it happened. So it’s good that now I can smile."