French Open 2018: Results, Highlights, Thursday Scores Recap from Roland-Garros

The women's final at the 2018 French Open is set for Saturday with top-seeded Simona Halep taking on Sloane Stephens. 

Halep and Stephens won straight-set matches in the semifinals. Halep, who has yet to win a major championship, is in the final for the second consecutive year. She lost to Jelena Ostapenko in 2017.

Stephens can join Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati as the only American women to win a French Open title since 1987. 

After being washed out by rain on Wednesday, Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro set up a semifinal showdown on the men's side. 

Here's a look at what happened during Thursday's singles action from Roland-Garros. 

Women's Semifinals

No. 1 Simona Halep def. No. 3 Garbine Muguruza: 6-1, 6-4

No. 10 Sloane Stephens def. No. 13 Madison Keys: 6-4, 6-4

Men's Quarterfinals

Juan Martin del Potro def. No. 3 Marin Cilic: 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. No. 11 Diego Schwartzman: 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2

Rafael Nadal Cruises Past Diego Schwartzman

When play was suspended on Wednesday, Nadal was trying to even his match with Diego Schwartzman at one set with a 5-3 lead. The No. 1 seed on the men's side wasted no time getting back on track, closing the second set immediately. 

After that, Nadal went on cruise control in the final two sets. He didn't dominate statistically—both players had three double faults and just one ace in the match—but took advantage of 64 unforced errors by Schwartzman. 

Nadal admitted after his win that he was feeling stress during the match:

History is on Nadal's side as he continues his quest for an 11th title at Roland-Garros. He's never lost a semifinal match at this tournament in his career:

The key for Nadal to keep his semifinal record perfect will be recovery. The 32-year-old has a quick 24-hour turnaround before his match with del Potro. 

Juan Martin del Potro Stuns Marin Cilic

Del Potro's surprise run at the French Open continues after knocking off No. 3 Marin Cilic on Thursday. 

Just as Schwartzman hurt himself with unforced errors against Nadal, Cilic did the same thing in his semifinal. He committed 74 unforced errors on Thursday, one more than in his previous two matches combined. 

Match point, though, was a showcase of del Potro's ability to keep Cilic off balance with his serve:

The win marks del Potro's first appearance in the French Open semifinals since 2009. It's his second semifinal appearance in a major tournament in four years (2017 U.S. Open).  

In 14 career matches against Nadal, del Potro has five wins. Nadal ended the Argentinian's run at the U.S. Open last year with a four-set victory. 

Simona Halep Overwhelms Garbine Muguruza

Despite not playing her best tennis, Halep was able to get past Muguruza in straight sets. She committed four double faults, compared to one for Muguruza, and had just one ace. 

The key moment of the match came in the second set. Halep held serve to take a 5-4 lead that gave her breathing room and a chance to close things out in the next game. 

Halep has been put through the wringer in her past two matches. Her wins over Muguruza and Angelique Kerber have taken more than 3.5 hours combined. For comparison, Muguruza needed 70 minutes to beat Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals. 

Despite Halep having a lot of tread on her shoes, she has shown no signs of slowing down at this stage of the tournament. 

"I think I played one of my best matches on clay," Halep told reporters after Thursday's win. "Every day I play better and that makes me happy."

The next step for Halep will be her most difficult. The 26-year-old is 0-3 in the finals of major tournaments, including this year's Australian Open. 

Roland-Garros has been Halep's best major tournament with three trips to the final since 2014. She is already ranked No. 1 in the world, but a French Open title would put a cherry on top of her career. 

Sloane Stephens' Rise Continues

With Serena Williams still working her way back after giving birth last year and withdrawing from the French Open in the fourth round due to a pectoral injury, Stephens is emerging as the face of women's tennis in the United States. 

Stephens continued her career-best run at the French Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow American Madison Keys. 

After winning the U.S. Open last year, Stephens got off to a disastrous start in 2018. She lost in the first round at the Apia International Sydney and Australian Open in January.

Per Jose Morgado of the Portugal Record, Stephens has had a dramatic turnaround from where she was at 13 months ago coming back from foot surgery:

A win at the Miami Open in April seemed to turn things around, but she followed that by failing to advance past the third round in each of her next four tournaments. 

Stephens seems to have flipped a switch at Roland-Garros with five of her six wins coming in straight sets. 

Stats via RolandGarros.com.