Simona Halep will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in her first French Open quarter-final after seeing off the challenge of Sloane Stephens.
Halep won six titles in a breakthrough 2013 and has continued her progress this year, with a quarter-final appearance in January’s Australian Open marking the first time she had reached the last eight of a grand slam.
The Romanian achieved the feat again on the Roland Garros clay courtesy of a 6-4 6-3 win over the 15th seed from the United States.
Stephens was broken six times – three times in each set – and her struggles on serve ultimately proved costly.
She also made 35 unforced errors and although Halep did not produce a vintage performance, she did what she needed to do to win.
Halep will now meet Kuznetsova, the 2009 French Open champion, who beat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-4 in just 80 minutes.
The Russian made three breaks in the first set to seize control and never looked back, adding another three in the second…
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