Halep’s grand slam hoodoo on the line

SIMONA Halep insists she is not scarred by the traumas of three grand slam final defeats, vowing to erase the memories before tackling Sloane Stephens in the French Open decider tonight.

Elated at securing the world No.1 ranking with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-4 semi-final victory over Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, Halep intends to block out lingering negativity over performances at the tail end of majors.

The Romanian has lost French Open finals to Maria Sharapova and Jelena Ostapenko as well as January’s Australian Open decider to Caroline Wozniacki.

But she is optimistic she can capitalise on an established superiority over Stephens (she leads the rivalry 5-2) in a watershed encounter.

“It’s a big chance, but you never know,” she said.

“So I lost three times until now and no one died, so it will be OK. But I will be, I think, more confident, because I have a lot of experience. But in tennis, you never know.

“I will try just to be calm during the match and try everything I can. I have just to feel happy after the match that I gave everything.”

Coached by Darren Cahill, Halep will hope to provide the South Australian with his third grand slam champion, after he guided both Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt to titles and the world No.1 ranking.

Halep has not lost to Stephens in five years, winning the pair’s past four encounters in straight sets.

Their only encounter on clay at grand slam level resulted in a 6-4, 6-3 margin for Halep in the fourth round in Paris in 2014.

Stephens is a vastly improved player in the past eight months, having returned from serious injury.

In her semi-final on Thurs- day, she shoved aside American compatriot Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4 in a rematch of last year’s US Open final.

Stephens is typically candid when assessing Halep.

“She’s won plenty of tournaments. She’s No.1 in the world for a reason,” she said.

“Someone has to win. Someone has to lose. Just go out, give it your all, and whoever wins, wins. It’s just mainly about competing. No one is going to hand you the match. It’s a grand slam final. You have to go out there and get after it and make sure you play every point and try to execute your game plan.”

Once accused of laziness, Stephens is rapidly emerging as Serena Williams’s successor.