CZECH Barbora Krejcikova showed incredible spirit to beat Maria Sakkari in a classic French Open semi-final and reach her first Grand Slam final.
Krejcikova, 25, won 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 with her fifth match point – after saving one herself – in a dramatic match lasting over three hours.
Krejcikova thought she had won earlier in the final game but had a line call wrongly overruled by the umpire.
She will play Russian 31st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final tomorrow.
“I always wanted to play a match like this,” said Krejcikova, who is ranked 33rd in the singles and also a former doubles world number one.
“When I was younger and I was playing juniors, I always wanted to play such a challenging match where we both had chances and were playing so well – and only one can win.
“Even if I lost today I would be very proud of myself because I was fighting. That is the most important thing, to fight, in here and in our own life.”
Pavlyuchenkova continued her late bloom at the French Open to also reach her first Grand Slam final, beating Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek 7-5, 6-3 on the Paris clay.
Pavlyuchenkova, 29, was a dominant junior player but had never previously reached a Grand Slam semi-final. (BBC Sport).