Premium
World number one female tennis player Romanian Simona Halep on Thursday advanced for the second consecutive year to the women's singles final of the French Open tournament after defeating Spain's Garbine Muguruza Blanco 6-1 6-4.
Halep, 26, on Saturday will play her fourth grand slam final, her third French Open one, after 2014 and 2017, and her second this year, as she lost the Australian Open singles final to Danish Caroline Wozniacki.
Halep played one of her best career matches, getting a clear victory against world number three in one hour and 32 minutes.
Muguruza, 24, world number three and current Wimbledon singles champion is now leading 3-2 in the one-to-one matches versus Halep, whom she defeated in 2014 in the second round of the Wuhan Open 2-6 6- 2 6-3; in 2015 in the Fed Cup 6-4 6-3, and in 2017, the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, the US, 6-1 6-0. Halep's only victory before Thursday was in the R8 of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, 3-6 6-1 6-3. This year, in the Qatar Total Open semi-finals, the Spaniard stood to gain from Halep's withdrawal after an injury.
