After Americans Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens made the French Open semifinals on Tuesday, Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep joined them on Wednesday by defeating Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber, respectively. The semifinal line-up this year in Paris boasts, as the WTA Insider pointed out on Twitter, two reigning Grand Slam champions and two recent runner-ups, plus one showdown for the No.1 ranking.
On Court Philippe Chatrier, third seed Garbine Muguruza dominated fellow French Open champion Maria Sharapova from start to finish, recording her first victory in four career meetings against the 28th-seeded Russian, 6-2 6-1 in one hour and ten minutes.
At the same time on Court Suzanne Lenglen, top seed Simona Halep was in a double break deficit in the first set against seed No.12 Angelique Kerber and despite recovering to 5-5, after another exchange of breaks, the German took the set in a tiebreak.
Despite losing the opening set, Halep’s momentum was on the rise and it reflected on the scoreboard in the second set, as the Romanian broke Kerber’s serve at the start of the set and surged clear in the decider for a 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2 triumph.
Winner of the Halep vs. Muguruza semifinal will hold the WTA No.1 ranking after Roland Garros on Monday. Current No.1 Halep trails Muguruza 1-3 in their head-to-head stats, but the Romanian’s sole victory was the only match they played on clay.
