French Open 2016 Women's Semifinal: TV Schedule, Start Time, Live-Stream Info

Serena Williams is one step closer to a chance at winning her fourth French Open title, but she must deal with an underdog in Kiki Bertens who has already proved she can upset higher seeds in this tournament. 

Williams, the tournament's top seed and defending champion, was not in top form in the quarterfinals. She needed to win her last two sets to beat the unseeded Yulia Putintseva. 

Putintseva is ranked 60th in the world, per the WTA, while Williams clocks in at No. 1. 

Bertens, also unseeded, defeated the No. 8 seed Timea Bacsinszky to advance to the semifinals. 

Garbine Muguruza and Samantha Stosur will face off in the other semifinal contest. 

Muguruza, the fourth-ranked player in the world, has looked sharp at Roland Garros, dropping only one set all tournament. Stosur has knocked off two ranked opponents (Simona Halep and Lucie Safarova) in her last three matches. 

Here is a look at the important information and the schedule for Friday, followed by some predictions.

Date	Matchup	Court	Time (ET)	Network	Live Stream
Friday, June 3	Bertens vs. Williams	Philippe-Chatrier Court	1 p.m.	NBC	NBCSports.com
Friday June 3	Muguruza vs. Stosur	Suzanne-Lenglen Court	1 p.m.	NBC Sports	NBCSports.com

Williams Still Wins in Straight Sets

The two semifinalists do not have much history, but that small sample combined with Williams' recent play could force her to overcome some adversity against Bertens.

In singles play, Williams defeated Bertens in their only meeting, which came in the round of 64 in last year's U.S. Open. Bertens made it tough on Williams, as she pushed the 21-time major champion to extra games in the first set. Williams then closed out the next set 6-3. 

Less significant, but still worth noting, is the team of Bertens and Johanna Larsson defeated the Williams sisters in a doubles match at Roland Garros on May 29. So while Bertens has never beaten Williams head-to-head, she has had some success against the world's best player.

Although Williams struggled in the quarterfinals, she was still able to turn it on down the stretch and overpower her opponent, as ESPN's Pam Shriver noted:

According to ESPN.com, Williams has rallied to win 36 times after losing the first set of a Grand Slam match, the most ever. If Bertens gains any sort of momentum, Williams is still likely to triumph in the end.

Williams has a championship pedigree that is unmatched by most athletes in the world. She is one more Grand Slam win away from tying Steffi Graf for most major wins ever in women's tennis.

Williams knows this. She lost her last two majors, the 2015 U.S. Open and the 2016 Australian Open, so she will have even more motivation to drive past Bertens and into the French Open final.

She will be favored to win the final and tie Graf's record. Per Newsday's Teddy Cutler, Graf believes Williams will eventually break her record. This comes closer to fruition Friday.

Stosur Returns to the Final

Stosur, 32, has an advantage in experience over her 22-year-old opponent. 

She is a one-time major winner, having taken the 2011 U.S. Open, and has more than twice as many career victories as Muguruza. She also has an appearance in the French Open final in 2010. 

In their only meeting, Stosur defeated Muguruza in three sets on clay in 2014 in Madrid.

Stosur's coach, Dave Taylor, feels confident she can persevere on her preferred surface, per Emmanuel Bringuier of RolandGarros.com.

"She just loves Paris, she loves the tournament," Taylor said. "I mean Roland Garros courts are an absolute pleasure to play on. It's got a lot to do with [her play so far]."

Stosur leads the tournament in aces, per Bringuier.

Muguruza, who is in her first French Open semifinal, has a bright future, but Stosur has been on this stage before and has shown she can win.

Look for the Australian to play Williams for the title. 

All statistics are courtesy of WTA.com unless otherwise noted.