Reigning champion Iga Swiatek stormed into the French Open final, defeating Coco Gauff in straight sets in the semi-final.
World number one Swiatek will face Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini in the final in a spectacular bid to win the French Open three times in a row.
Only two women have won the title thrice in succession — Monica Seles (1990–1992) and Justine Henin (2005–2007) — in the Open era.
The third-seeded American Coco Gauff proved no match for the world number one.
Poland’s Swiatek, 23, broke Gauff in the first game of the match and, after briefly losing serve in the second set, regained control to win 6-2, 6-4.
The 20-year-old American has now lost 11 of her 12 matches against the world number one.
“It was intense, especially in the second set, but I’m happy,” said Swiatek.
“I stuck with my tactics, didn’t overthink things and just went for it.”
Before the match, Gauff had claimed the pressure was on Swiatek.
But Gauff seemed a bundle of nerves from the start of the match and ended up making a stream of errors.
Meanwhile, the Italian Paolini, 28, beat unseeded 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 in the second semi-final on Thursday.
The Russian teenager was the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis at the 1997 US Open. She admitted she was “a bit disappointed” but added she was taking “a lot of positives” from the French Open.
Paolini, of course, had reason to smile. The late-blooming Italian has proved a surprise winner at Roland Garros.
She had never before gone beyond the second round in Paris.
“I learned a bit later than other players maybe but to dream is the most important thing in sport and life. I’m happy I could dream this moment,” said Paolini.
Sourcee: BBC