French Open: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Beats Tamara Zidansek To Reach Maiden Grand Slam Final

French Open: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Tamara Zidansek in the women's singles semi-final to reach her maiden Grand Slam final.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Tamara Zidansek in straight sets to reach a first Grand Slam final at the French Open on Thursday at a record 52nd attempt, as great rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic prepared for their blockbuster clash. The 29-year-old Russian defeated world number 85 Zidansek 7-5, 6-3 and will face Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari or Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic for the title on Saturday, 14 years after her Grand Slam debut. Pavlyuchenkova, a quarter-finalist in Paris a decade ago, became the first woman to play more than 50 majors before making her first final, breaking the previous mark of 44 set by 2015 US Open runner-up Roberta Vinci. "I am so tired and so happy, it is very emotional," said Pavlyuchenkova. "It was difficult, I tried to fight very hard and to work on the tactical side. It is important to stay focused and in the right zone for the final on Saturday." The 31st seed dropped serve in the opening game on a sun-drenched Court Philippe Chatrier but capitalised on a fourth break point against Zidansek to break back for 2-2.