Krejcikova saves match point to set up French Open final with Pavlyuchenkova

• Krejcikova beats Sakkari 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 in semi-final

• Pavlyuchenkova overcomes Zidansek 7-5, 6-3

The ball hung high in the sky for an eternity, giving Barbora Krejcikova all the time in the world to think about the countless ways that things could go wrong. Yet despite making so many unforced errors on her backhand and being a point away from losing the biggest singles match of her career at 3-5 in the third set, she swiped the backhand drive volley out of the air to save match point with a clean winner.

Forty-five minutes later, after three hours and 17 minutes of nerves, doubt and tremendous fight, the unseeded Krejcikova finally recovered to defeat Maria Sakkari, the 17th seed, 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 at the French Open to reach a grand slam singles final for the first time.

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