AT 17 and ranked 51st, American Amanda Anisimova became the first player born in the 2000s to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal, overwhelming Aliona Bolsova of Spain 6-3, 6-0 at Roland Garros on Monday and earning the right to face defending champion Simona Halep next.

Anisimova, born in New Jersey and based in Florida, is the youngest U.S. player to get to the round of eight in Paris since Jennifer Capriati in 1993, the youngest from any country since 2006.

“I have no idea about who did what at what age. People tell me, and then I just forget after a second. I don’t really care about it too much,” said Anisimova, the words flying out of her mouth with the same sort of pace that tennis balls zoom off her racket. “I’m in the present and I want to do good and I hope for good results, but I don’t really think about how old I am.”

Now she will take on the 27-year-old Halep, the No. 3 seed, who dispatched another teenager, Iga Swiatek of Poland, by a 6-1, 6-0 score Monday.

When someone asked about going from an 18-year-old opponent in Swiatek to Anisimova, Halep’s initial reply was: “I feel old.”

“To play against someone 10 years younger than me, that’s not easy. But I feel stronger on court,” she went on to say. “They’re young. They have nothing to lose. So every match is tough.”

Halep is one of only two women left in the draw who already own a major title. The other quarterfinal matchup on her half is No. 8 Ash Barty of Australia against No. 14 Madison Keys of the U.S.

In quarterfinals on the other half of the bracket, 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens meets No. 26 Johanna Konta of Britain, and No. 31 Petra Martic of Croatia faces 19-year-old Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.

In the men’s quarterfinals, it’ll be No. 3 Roger Federer vs. No. 24 Stan Wawrinka, and No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 7 Kei Nishikori, followed by No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 5 Alexander Zverev, and No. 4 Dominic Thiem vs. No. 10 Karen Khachanov.

Stephens, the runner-up to Halep in Paris a year ago, joins Keys and Anisimova to give the United States a trio of French Open quarterfinalists for the first time since Capriati and the two Williams sisters made it that far in 2004.

The 1.80-meter Anisimova takes balls early, not waiting for a full bounce, and uses her strong shots to dictate points and wrong-foot her opponents.

“She just showed up,” said Bolsova, a qualifier ranked 137th. “She took the initiative.”

Before heading out for their match, Anisimova watched Halep play and took notes.

“I was, like, ‘Oh, my God, her backhand down the line is so good and she was taking her time,” Anisimova said, “and then I think I was mimicking it in my match.”

(SD-Agencies)