Simona Halep advanced through to the last eight of the French Open this afternoon courtesy of a 6-4 6-3 victory over Sloane Stephens.

The Romanian, who is seeded fourth at Roland Garros, made a decisive impact in the first set when, leading 5-4, she broke Stephens to open up a 1-0 lead.

The second set proved to be an unpredictable one, as both players struggled to hold their respective service games.

Halep eventually prospered, though, to secure her place in the quarter-finals after one hour and 19 minutes of action.

She will now face either Svetlana Kuznetsova or Lucie Safarova for a semi-final slot.