Simona Halep finally ended her Grand Slam drought at the fourth attempt with a thrilling comeback win over Sloane Stephens in the 2019 Roland Garros final.

Halep, on the wrong side of history on Court Philippe Chatrier twice before in finals, and at the Australian Open this year, battled back from a set and a break down to overcome American Stephens 3-6 6-4 6-1 in just over two hours.

After around an hour of the match, it would have been easy to sympathise with the Romanian, having come up against inspired opponents at Roland Garros in the form of Maria Sharapova in 2014 and the all-or-nothing approach of Jelena Ostapenko in 2015. For a while it looked as if Stephens was going to spoil her day again. But, true to her status as the world's top female player, Halep found a way this time.

The contest was billed as an even encounter, the world No. 1 yet to break her Grand Slam duck against the world No. 10 and 2017 US Open winner. Twelve months ago Stephens was recovering from foot surgery but now, with her stock having risen considerably, she was again in another Grand Slam final and started the match with her sights set on a second triumph.

The American gained the early advantage to go 3-1 up, and in the first set Halep was very much the boxer on the ropes, scurrying here and there to try and counter Stephens' athleticism. In all, 17 forced errors suggested one-way traffic in favour of Stephens.

A missed volley at the net from Halep proved her nadir in this match, as Stephens capitalised to break and lead 2-0 in the 2nd set. Perhaps at this stage it was impossible for the Romanian to feel any more pressure or any more weight from the burden of losing three major finals, or perhaps on a more detailed level, the energy levels of the two women began to differ dramatically.

Whatever the catalyst, as the match reached the hour mark and Stephens conceded a rare double fault, Halep began to do what Ostapenko had done to her a year ago, and fight her way back. She reeled off the next four games with more variation in her play, only for Stephens to break back to love.

With the set at 5-4, there was a sense that Halep would again be contesting a three-set Grand Slam final, and a mishit backhand from Stephens promptly levelled the match.

While 6-1 in the final set may have seemed one-sided, Halep still had to fight for everything. She won a 23-shot rally as she served at 2-0, a point that, an hour previously, would likely have gone the other way.

By this stage, Stephens had lost much of the spark that had allowed her to dominate the opening set. The suggestion that fate was intervening was manifested in a miscued volley after Halep's backhand had clipped the net with Stephens charging towards it. The point of the match soon followed, as Halep magnificently chased down a drop shot to set up a backhand winner.

From there it was almost a procession, and though a netted return from Stephens at championship point belied the excellence of what had come before it, Halep would not have cared. She stood there, arms aloft, a major champion at last.

"I'm really happy it's happened at Roland Garros, in Paris - my special city," Halep said after climbing into the stands to embrace her coach, Darren Cahill, her family and her team.

"I did everything I could. I have been dreaming of this moment since I started to play tennis. It's amazing what is happening now," she said, smiling throughout the trophy ceremony.

Stephens, too, was smiling despite a difficult defeat. "Not the trophy I wanted but it's still beautiful.

"To Simona, congratulations on your first Slam, it looks great on you. No one else I'd rather lose to than the No. 1 player in the world," she added, acknowledging that today was finally Simona's day.