The top seed ended her long wait for a Grand Slam crown as she recorded a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over her American opponent on the iconic red clay at Roland Garros.

The Romanian player, who had lost all three of her previous major finals, recovered from losing the first set and conceding a break in the second in a topsy-turvy encounter on the Philippe Chatrier court.

Halep then completed a gutsy comeback by racing away with the third set before heading into the crowd to celebrate with her support team.

"I did everything I could," Halep, beaten in last year's final by Latvia's Jeļena Ostapenko, said.

"It was amazing and thank you for your support.

"In the last game I didn't feel like I could breathe any more and didn't want to repeat last year, so I cannot believe it. 

"I was dreaming of this moment since I started playing tennis and I'm happy it happened at Roland Garros."

Stephens, the 10th seed who beat compatriot Madison Keys to win her first Grand Slam at the 2017 US Open, started the better of the two players and quickly opened up a first set lead.

The 25-year-old looked on course for a second major title when she won the opener and broke Halep in the second.

Halep began to find her range and clawed herself back into the match before sending the final into a decider.

Stephens was no match for the Romanian in the final set as she reeled off consecutive games and clinched the title with a first serve ace.

Spain's Rafael Nadal is due to bid for a record 11th French Open crown when he plays Austrian seventh seed Dominic Thiem in the men's final tomorrow.