The winner of Thursday’s showdown between Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza will be No. 1 in the world next week. More importantly, one will keep alive her chance for the French Open title. Sloane Stephens and Madinson Keys will contest the other semifinal.
(1) Simona Halep vs. (3) Garbine Muguruza
Halep and Muguruza will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers when they battle for a place in the French Open final on Thursday. Muguruza leads the head-to-head series 3-1 after destroying Halep 6-1, 6-0 in the in the Cincinnati title match last summer. It was the Romanian, however, who won their only previous clay-court encounter 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 three years ago in Stuttgart.
Of the four semifinalists, two have captured at least one Grand Slam title and two are still searching for their first major triumph. Although Halep has spent by far the most weeks at No. 1 in the world of the four, she finds herself in the latter group without a slam. Is her time now? The Romanian is already a two-time runner-up at Roland Garros and she is back in another semifinal following victories over Alison Riske, Taylor Townsend, Andrea Petkovic, Elise Mertens, and Angelique Kerber. Muguruza has advanced by taking out Svetlana Kuznetsova, Fiona Ferro, Samantha Stosur, Lesia Tsurenko, and Maria Sharapova. The third-ranked Spaniard has not dropped a single set this fortnight, while Halep has surrendered just one (to Kerber in a tiebreaker). Muguruza’s best would probably beat Halep’s best, but the world No. 1 was far more consistent on clay heading into Paris and this surface gives her a good chance of withstanding Muguruza’s superior firepower.
Pick: Halep in 3
[polldaddy poll=10024614]
(13) Madison Keys vs. (10) Sloane Stephens
It will be a rematch of the 2017 all-American U.S. Open final when Stephens and Keys meet again on Thursday. Stephens improved to 2-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series when she lifted a Grand Slam winner’s trophy for the first time in her career with a 6-3, 6-0 rout at Flushing Meadows. She had previously crushed Keys 6-4, 6-2 at the 2015 Miami event. The world No. 10 has been somewhat of an all-or-nothing performer in recent seasons, frequently either going a long way or losing quite early at tournaments. The good Stephens has been on display this fortnight, with defeats of Arantxa Rus, Magdalena Frech, Camila Giorgi, Anett Kontaveit, and Daria Kasatkina.
Keys earned a spot in the last four thanks to wins at the expense of Sachia Vickery, Caroline Dolehide, Noami Osaka, Mihaela Buzarnescu, and Yulia Putintseva. The 23-year-old did not do much on clay prior to arriving in Roland Garros and she even withdrew from a scheduled Rome showdown against Kerber due to a rib injury. Although the sample size is small, Stephens appears to have her best friend on tour’s number. And the surface also does nothing to help Keys.
Pick: Stephens in 2
[polldaddy poll=10024613]
Hopefully Simona will not have any major letdown after the big win…I’m a little bit concerned if she turned out like Woz,Ostapenko & many more after won a slam…Sloane herself ‘drowned’ for many months after she won USO…I’m very surprised Sloane get this far actually…She’s not passed QF[i think] in any tourney until this…But,much congrats to Sloane too for her deep run here…showing that win USO was not a 1 time thingy…
I don’t think so mira…think more the reverse that it will empower her..
I honestly could not imagine Simona having a letdown like those champs, just because unlike those others, Simona is REGULARLY in the business end of majors. She in the quarters, semis, and final much of the time. Those other players are so streaky. Simona has her moments of seeming like she didn’t show up, but those moments are pretty much non-existent in the majors for her.
Ohh!…I hope u guys r right amy & Kev!…But,just for the thought….Wozniacki also a regular semi finalist/finalist when she still a No 1 long ago…It took her what?7,8 years to get her 1st slam?And after won AO..she played,but not passed 3,4th Rd ever since…Sam Stosur too….
You’re right, Mira- there’s no denying that there is a somewhat recurring theme of major champs having letdowns. Let’s hope it’s not Simona!
The days of having a few women who are winning and competing for major titles all the time seem to be gone. Maybe Simona can break that trend and get many titles? I could picture being sort of like a late-blooming Justine Henin (my personal all-time fav).
I knew Simona was going to win a Slam one day,esp the French.
What a way to do it,after last year when she was set an point for double break Fantastic😂
Ahhhhh now I can finally after all these years hoping for her, I can relax about Simona 😀 She’s #1 and the French Open Champion🏆
Sounds like almost everyone here is happy that Halep won her first slam. Hard not to like her, and a well-deserved FO champ!
RC im so happy for Simona, she really deserved it, what a fighter, her court coverage is amazing , and im so happy for you too, two brand new champions winning the first two GS of the year, so looking forward to seeing whats ahead at Wimbledon 😉
She’s small but powerful alison. And she works so very hard. Speedy and great footwork and she has turned into a never say die competitor. Of course she’s had a plethora of injuries and she used to be quite moody. But under Darren Cahill he fixed all that so I thank him too!
At Wimbledon — that will be another puzzle! WTA is so very wide open — many possibilities 😀
Just enjoying the moment for dear Simona.
Congrats to Big Al winning the WTA FO bracket!
Looks like Kpuppy has got the ATP FO bracket top spot.
And the bracket fun keeps coming…Grass is always a refreshing change!
http://www.tennisdrawchallenge.com/
‘s-Hertogenbosch WTA and ATP
Nottingham WTA and Stuttgart ATP 😀
Yes Halep got it done! Finally! It was hard to watch her lose the final last year the way she did. Hard work and perseverance pays off in the end! Congrats Simona 🎉 🍾