Simona Halep insists she feels “no pressure, no expectation” as she looks to reach a fourth Grand Slam final at the French Open. The 26-year-old Romanian tackles 2016 Roland Garros winner and reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza for a place in Saturday’s final. World number one Halep was runner-up in Paris in 2014, where she was beaten by Maria Sharapova, and last year, going down to Jelena Ostapenko after squandering a set and 3-0 lead. Her Slam misery continued at the Australian Open in January where she lost in three sets to Caroline Wozniacki. “I have no expectations, no pressure,” said Halep after seeing off German 12th seed Angelique Kerber 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals yesterday. “I just want to play as I did today, and as I did every day. If I do that, I will be okay after the match, no matter the result.” On Wednesday, Halep looked anything but the top seed, slipping 4-0 down in the first set before she rallied to defeat Kerber, a two-time major winner who had exited in the first round in Paris in the last two years. It was also a match which witnessed a colossal 99 unforced errors. Halep is aware she cannot afford another poor start on Thursday against 24-year-old Muguruza who has been tested just once in Paris and that was in the first round where fellow former winner Svetlana Kuznetsova pushed her to a tiebreak in the first set. The Spanish third seed thrashed Sharapova 6-2, 6-1 in the quarter-finals, condemning the Russian to her worst Grand Slam defeat in more than six years. The winner of Thursday’s semi-final will also decide the world number one spot which Muguruza held for four weeks last year. “It’s not that important, because it’s constantly this thing going on,” said Muguruza. Muguruza holds a 3-1 career edge over Halep in head-to-head meetings but the Romanian won their only clash on clay in Stuttgart in 2015. Sharapova, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015, suffered her most one-sided defeat at the Slams since a 6-3, 6-0 loss to Victoria Azarenka in the 2012 Australian Open final. The 2012 and 2014 Paris champion, who missed the 2016 tournament because of a doping ban and last year when she was refused a wild card, was broken six times, committed 27 unforced errors and won just five points on her own serve in the second set. It was just her fifth loss in 25 Grand Slam quarter-finals. In today’s other semi-final, US Open champion Sloane Stephens will take on fellow American and close friend Madison Keys who she beat 6-3, 6-0 in the final in New York last September. “When we get on the court, it’s time to compete. But before that, we are not going to be weird and awkward and make it, like, weird for each other,” said Stephens, who was close to going out in the third round to Camila Giorgi before winning 8-6 in a deciding set. It is the first time that two American women have reached the last four at Roland Garros since 2002, when Serena Williams beat sister Venus in the final, after a semi-final win over Jennifer Capriati. Stephens, who is now into the semi-finals of a major for the third time, leads Keys 2-0 in head-to-heads but they have never met on clay. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal will resume his fight back in his quarter-final against Diego Schwartzman on Thursday after rain brought an early halt yesterday. Top seed Nadal, chasing an 11th title in Paris, dropped the first set 6-4 to his Argentine opponent, the first time he lost a set at the tournament since 2015. But he was 5-3 and 30-15 to the good when rain sent the players off for good. On Court Suzanne Lenglen, Marin Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro were locked in a first-set tiebreak when play was called off

Australia captain Tim Paine believes training at Lord’s has fuelled the team’s “dream” of appearing in next year’s World Cup final at the ‘home of cricket’.

The reigning world champions have been at Lord’s this week ahead of a one-day international series against England.

The five-match contest, which gets underway across London at The Oval on June 13, will mark the first time Australia have been in international action since March’s ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

The fall-out from one of the most humiliating episodes in Australian cricket history led to year-long bans for former captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner, as well as a nine-month suspension for batsman Cameron Bancroft, who applied sandpaper to the ball during the third Test in Cape Town in a flagrant breach of cricket’s rulebook.

Darren Lehmann subsequently resigned as team coach, with Justin Langer succeeding his fellow former Australia batsman.

It was at Lord’s where the now 33-year-old Paine made his Test debut in a ‘neutral’ match against Pakistan in 2010.

“I haven’t been here for about eight or nine years but one of the first things we (the squad) did was a slow lap together and let it all sink in, the history and tradition,” Paine told reporters at Lord’s on Wednesday.

“We also talked about the World Cup final here in 12 months’ time as a dream for our guys to work to,” the wicket-keeper explained.

Langer, who knows the ground better than most Australians, having also played for Lord’s-based county side Middlesex, added: “This is the best place on earth. Literally.

“Mate, what a place. Lord’s is the best place on earth. What about lunch (here)?” But Australia, who won the 1999 World Cup final at Lord’s, may need to improve their ODI form if they are to reach next year’s showpiece match and be crowned champions for a record-extending sixth time.

England, who beat Australia 4-1 in an ODI series ‘Down Under’ earlier this year, are currently top of the 50-over rankings, with Langer’s side fifth.

As well as Smith and Warner, Australia will also be without injured first-choice fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummings and Josh Hazlewood for the upcoming series.

They will look to the likes of Travis Head and D’Arcy Short to fill the run-gap, while pacemen Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson and Billy Stanlake stake their claims.

“How do you replace David Warner’s and Steve Smith’s runs and experience?,” asked Langer.

“But the reality is that’s where we’re at. If we’re going to come and win the World Cup here next year we’ll need unbelievable depth in Australian cricket.” Paine added: “We can win this series. It’s an opportunity for other guys to come in and fill the void.

“Not having our big three bowlers here is an opportunity for guys who are probably a bit better than people around the world realise.” Meanwhile Paine, who took over as captain in South Africa, said Australia were prepared for taunts from English crowds following the ball-tampering scandal.

“We expect that when we come to England all the time,” he said ahead of Thursday’s tour-opener against a Sussex side coached by former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie.

“We cop a little bit of ribbing and this time we come with a bit more of a reason for them to do it,” Paine added.

“We’re looking forward to it, to be honest.” But the Tasmanian stressed: “We won’t be overly nice. We’ve still got to have that hard edge. We’re here to win.” And Langer was confident the team could put the events of Cape Town behind them.

“South Africa was a really hard time for Australian cricket, individually and collectively,” he said.

“One of our values is being number one learners. As long as we learn from what happened and move forward, that’s all we can do.

“There’s no-one in this room who hasn’t made a mistake in their life.

“The boys made a mistake and as long as we get better for it we’ll be OK,” Langer insisted.