After beating Brazilian 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) on Thursday, reigning champion and world number one Iga Swiatek will take on unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova in the French Open final.
Swiatek, 22, of Poland, is looking to secure her third Roland Garros championship in 4 years and become the first woman to successfully defend the title since Justine Henin in 2007.
“It’s really amazing. It’s just tough to play such a long tournament, to be able to play consistently. Every year I have good results here and I’m pretty excited for Saturday,” said Swiatek.
Swiatek was broken to love in the first game by Haddad Maia, the first Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since seven-time major champion Maria Bueno in 1968, but the top seed quickly regained control.
After winning five of the following six games, Swiatek broke Haddad Maia a third time to win the set. In the second set, Haddad Maia clawed out a 3-1 lead, but Swiatek won the following three games.
She saved a set point in the tie-break and fended off three break points at 4-all to halt the run of the 27-year-old left-hander, who had never advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam before this French Open.