Halep v Muguruza in Cincinnati final

Simona Halep can rise to world No.1 on Monday if she wins the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Halep arrived in the final following a commanding 6-2 6-1 win over wildcard Sloane Stephens.

The American has enjoyed an impressive return from injury; in just four tournaments, she’s reached two Premier-level semifinals in back-to-back weeks after doing the same in Toronto.

But she was no match for Halep; the Romanian blitzed to victory in just 54 minutes to advance to her second final in Cincinnati.

There she’ll face Garbine Muguruza, after the fourth seed snapped a woeful losing streak to Karolina Pliskova in the first women’s semifinal of the Saturday schedule.

The Wimbledon champion had lost her last six meetings with the Czech, who was the defending champion in Cincinnati and who now barely clings to her place at the top of the rankings.

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“I was very precise with my shots,” said Muguruza, who improved her head-to-head with Pliskova to 2-6.

“I wanted to be more aggressive and take my shots. I felt pretty good out there – under control. Everything went my way.”

Pliskova was blunt in her assessment of her performance.

“I don’t think I played my best tennis today,” she said. “I think the energy was pretty low from my side. Obviously, a tough schedule for me the last two days – three matches in about not even 24 hours.

“I think she played very solid, not missing much and obviously serving well. Everything started, I think, in the first game of the first set.”

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Halep needs to beat Muguruza – against who she’s won just one of three meetings – to leapfrog Pliskova for the world No.1 ranking.

If she loses the final, she’ll trail Pliskova by just five points when the new rankings are released on Monday.

Muguruza has won 24 of her past 30 matches, but hasn’t faced Halep in more than two years.