This is not quite a Sharapova or Azarenka level but the groans are getting louder and louder as the points get more and more important.

Stephens finds a much needed winner but Halep is still in there, looking for that crucial blow.

30-30.

So last year it was a set and 3-0 up. This year Simona Halep is 3-0 up in the deciding set as she goes for her first Grand Slam title.

Will Halep blink? What has Stephens got left?

Chanda Rubin
American former world number six on Radio 5 live

All of sudden it seems like the world has shifted back into alignment for Simona Halep. She is used to outlasting her opponents, and she is in a commanding position now. But she cannot relax.

A fifth game in a row for Halep. She is definitely attacking more than in the first set now. She's screaming as she whacks the ball harder and harder back over the net.

Stephens needs to find something from somewhere and she's not going to get anything from the crowd. This could be a home tie for Romania in the Fed Cup.

Image source, Getty Images

Chanda Rubin
American former world number six on Radio 5 live

Simona Halep has spent an hour more on court than Sloane Stephens, but you can't tell that right now. She looks more energised. Stephens is starting to break down more and more. She has to rein this in quickly.

That momentum we were talking about? It's fully with Halep now.

Four games in a row. Eight of the last 10 games for the Romanian.

She's a break up early in the decider.

Image source, EPA

Wide from Stephens. She goes too early for the winner. A sign of tiredness?

Break point for Halep. The Romanians are chanting again...

Chanda Rubin
American former world number six on Radio 5 live

What you are seeing in Sloane Stephens looking tired, it's not about being fit or not, it's the mental effort that you have to deal with over the course of a tennis match. That is difficult to do, and she looks dispirited - it looks like tiredness. She has to forget about the second set and hit a hard re-set.

Image source, Getty Images

Every point is a battle in this one. The ball is taking a beating as it is thumped from one side of the net to the other.

Stephens thinks she's found the line with a winner but she's out of luck. That missed.

That didn't. Another booming forehand. 30-30. Still hope for Halep in this game.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport at Roland Garros

Excitement is getting the better of some fans. A cry of support for Halep, just as the Romanian is mid serve, does not go down well with British umpire James Keothavong.

He pleads for quiet during points, the crowd responding with a round of applause in support.

Stephens pushes, prods and pokes at Halep but the Romanian holds. She skips a little as the last ball from her opponent drifts over the baseline.

It seems the world number one still has plenty to give.

Image source, EPA

Both players are back and (hopefully) refreshed. The clay has been re-brushed and the white lines wiped on the court. The sun continues to shine in Paris. It looks pretty much perfect for tennis.

The 2018 French Open champion will be decided over the next hour or so.

Chanda Rubin
American former world number six on Radio 5 live

At 2-0 love in the second set, it looked like Sloane Stephens had all the momentum, but she got a little nervous and tight, and all of a sudden Simona Halep started thinking 'I'm still in this'. In the latter stages of the set, she had more belief. What a turnaround and a huge boost, she should be feeling tremendously confident.

Image source, AFP

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport at Roland Garros

A lot of the talk in the build-up was about how Halep would handle the pressure - I don't think she has played like someone worried about the weight of expectation.

She was simply edged out by the better player in the first set. Stephens was flawless.

Halep has hit 21 unforced errors in the whole match, nine fewer than Stephens.

Both players head off court for a breather. Stephens is first into the locker room and Halep waits outside in a corridor before they pass each other as Stephens makes her way back to the court.

There's no cheeky kick in the shins from either player.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport at Roland Garros

Exactly what the crowd wanted! People in front of the media seats leapt to their feet, with one bloke excitedly waving his right fist towards the court, while wafting a Romanian flag in the other.

One suspects Halep will go on to win this one now. But what do I know...

Who is winning this now?

Halep was a set and a break down but has now taken us into a decider.

Don't count Sloane Stephens out though. That second set had plenty of twists. I reckon the third set will be much the same.

Image source, Getty Images

Philip Studd
BBC tennis reporter on Radio 5 live

We are going all the way - to a final set between these two players - for the first time.

We're going the distance!

Huge roar from the Chatrier crowd. Set point to Simona Halep...