Simona Halep soaked up everything Garbine Muguruza could throw at her and launched counter-attacks with devastating effect to reach her third French Open final.

The Romanian, who is still looking for her first women’s singles Grand Slam, never looked like losing this one. She was in control from the first game as an early break was a sign of things to come. She completely dominated and took a deserved 5-0 lead. Muguruza got a break back in the sixth, but that was only the positive for her in that first set as Halep broke back the next game to seal the set 6-1.

Muguruza started the second set much better as a break in the third game put her up a break. But she surrendered that break in the eighth game and could not convert three break points in the ninth. Halep broke her once again in the 10th game to seal a deserving straight-sets victory.

Halep will face Sloane Stephens in the final after she defeated fellow American Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4.

In the first all-American semi-final at Roland-Garros since 2002, Stephens chased down a looping drop shot and then cracked a forehand down the line to chalk up a 2-1 break lead.

Keys showed flashes of the brilliance that booked her semi-final ticket without dropping a set, with two piercing return winners giving her chances to break back, yet Stephens connected with two deliveries that Keys couldn’t cope with and the 10th seed maintained her advantage and won the first set 6-4.

Stephens started the second exactly as she wanted to, by breaking Keys in the first game. She built on that advantage by breaking again in the eighth. She could not seal the deal while serving for the match in the ninth, but did so at the second time of asking to seal another set 6-4 to book her place in the final against Halep on Saturday.

Photo: Cedric Lecocq/FFT