Muguruza, Halep in semi, while Nadal is in limbo
PARIS — Garbine Muguruza’s big strokes overwhelmed Maria Sharapova right from the start. Their French Open tennis quarter-final Wednesday was no contest at all, a 6-2, 6-1 sweep.
Simona Halep went from outof-sorts to on-target against Angelique Kerber, scrambling to every ball and staying the course to erase an early deficit. Halep pointed her right index finger at her temple when she eventually completed a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2 comeback to reach the semifinals.
“I never gave up. So I think that’s why I won today,” Halep said. “My head won it.”
When the top-seeded Halep and No. 3 Muguruza meet Thursday, their contrasting styles will match up with plenty at stake. The winner earns a berth in the final at Roland Garros — plus the No. 1 ranking that currently belongs to Halep.
“I have just to stay strong, to try to make her uncomfortable on court,” Halep said, “and to try to play my game.”
The women finished their matches before the rain arrived at Roland Garros, leaving the men’s quarter-finals suspended in progress. That might very well have been a relief to 10-time champion Rafael Nadal, who was not at his best Wednesday and dropped a French Open set for the first time since 2015.
Nadal lost the opener 6-4 against 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman but began to play better after a rain delay of just under an hour. Nadal was serving for the second set at 5-3, 30-15, when another shower came and action was halted for the day.
In the other men’s quarterfinal, No. 3 Marin Cilic and No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro were at 5-all in a first-set tiebreaker when the matchup of past U.S. Open champions was stopped.
In addition to Halep vs. Muguruza, the other women’s semifinal is the first featuring two Americans at the French Open in 16 years: No. 10 Sloane Stephens against No. 13 Madison Keys in a rematch of last year’s U.S. Open final. Stephens won that one, as well as the only other match they have played against each other.
Muguruza leads Halep 3-1 head-to-head, but this is their first Grand Slam matchup.
“No expectations, no pressure,” Halep said. “I just want to play as I did today, and as I did every day. If I do that, I will be OK after the match, no matter the result.”