Maria Sharapova needed all her battling qualities to beat Eugenie Bouchard and reach a third successive French Open final.
The Russian came through 4-6 7-5 6-2 against the 20-year-old Canadian in two hours and 27 minutes. She will face Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep in Saturday’s final.
Halep beat Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-2 7-6 (7-4) to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Sharapova had the more testing afternoon, recovering from a set down for the third match in a row.
“I don’t feel that I played my best tennis today,” she said, adding that “I felt my opponent played extremely well, exceptional tennis, and I didn’t feel that I was playing my best.
“I fought, I scrambled, and I found a way to win. I’m happy and proud about that.”
Sam Stosur and Garbine Muguruza had been seen off in three sets by Sharapova in the previous two rounds, and rising star Bouchard went the same way despite a similarly impressive start.
The Canadian’s powerful, flat hitting off both wings had Sharapova scrambling from side to side and she broke for the second time at 4-4 on her way to clinching the opening set.
When Bouchard came back from 5-2 down to level in the second, after an extraordinary ninth game that saw Sharapova double-fault on two of three set points, a maiden Grand Slam final was within reach.
But while Sharapova’s tennis might not always have hit the heights at Roland Garros this year, her renowned fighting spirit has been ever present.
The vulnerable serve improved sufficiently to take the pressure off and the Russian hammered away with her forehand to break at 6-5, forcing a decider.
Sharapova had dropped one game in her previous two final sets, and she set about this one in similar fashion, coming back from 40-0 down to break at 3-1.
Bouchard has shown her mettle by reaching two Grand Slam semi-finals this year and gamely saw off four match points on serve, but Sharapova simply would not be denied and converted her fifth with a forehand that clipped the baseline.
“I’m always disappointed with a loss,” said Bouchard. “I expect a lot from myself. I felt like I was close today and just came up a bit short.”
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