Before each day's play begins in Paris, we'll preview three must-see matches that you'll find on Tennis Channel Plus. Tennis Channel Plus features up to 10 courts of live action from Roland Garros beginning Sunday, May 27 at 5:00am ET. Catch up and watch all your favorite stars anytime, on-demand, with Tennis Channel Plus.
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Despite playing their quarterfinals 24 hours later than Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens, Muguruza and Halep will go first on Thursday. If that has an effect on anyone, it’s probably going to be Halep, who played one more set, and one more hour, of tennis than Muguruza on Wednesday.
Even if both women are at full strength, though, the Spaniard would seem to be a slight favorite. She has rolled through the draw without dropping a set. She’s coming off a career-highlight 6-2, 6-1 win over Maria Sharapova, a woman she had never beaten before, and she has a 3-1 record against Halep. Muguruza has been in the zone, and if she can stay there, no one is likely beat her.
But she’s still only a slight favorite over Halep. The Romanian won their only meeting on clay, in three sets, in 2015. She bounced back from early adversity against Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals, which should help her if she has a slow start against Muguruza. And Halep plays a different game from Muguruza’s last two opponents, Sharapova and Sam Stosur. Muguruza can’t expect, as she did in the quarterfinals, that her well-hit shots won’t be coming back, and won’t be coming back over and over again. Still, Muguruza appears up to the challenge of making those extra putaway balls. Winner: Muguruza
Daily Serve—previewing women's semifinal Thursday at Roland Garros