Ashleigh Barty is through to the French Open final after beating American teen Amanda Anisimova 6-7 (7-4) 6-3 6-3 in a three-set tussle on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The Queenslander is the first Australian finalist at Roland Garros in nine years after fighting back from a set down and a break down in the third set.
She will now face face unseeded Czech left-hander Marketa Vondrousova in Saturday’s decider.
The world No.8 dominated the opening exchanges, winning 17 of the first 18 points and looked well on course to win the match comfortably after racing in to a 5-0 lead in the first set.
However, 17-year-old Anisimova, who beat defending champion Simona Halep in the quarter-finals, held her nerve to save two set points and get on the scoreboard.
That game visibly galvanised the youngster, who had earlier looked close to tears after Barty’s red-hot start.
She immediately broke for the first time to reduce the deficit to 5-2 and then reeled off the next six games to stun the Australian in cold and windy conditions.
Barty stopped the rot by breaking for a third time to force a tiebreak where she opened a 4-2 lead only for Anisimova to win the next five points to remarkably take out the set.
With her confidence now through the roof Anisimova stormed in to a 3-0 lead with the Queenslander looking desperately to her coaching box for inspiration.
Barty looked hugely relieved when she finally got on the board and in a similar manner to the fightback staged by her opponent in the opener, she showed her spirit and determination to win six successive games and level the match.
A seven-minute game that featured four deuces on the Barty serve kicked off the deciding set but Anisimova prevailed on her opponent’s next service game to take a 2-1 lead.
In a titanic fourth game, Barty hit back on her fourth break point with a searing crosscourt forehand to wrestle back the momentum of the match.
A clearly rattled Anisimova was keen to come off as light rain fell.
But with Barty insisting the conditions were fine, Hughes agreed and she closed out the win on her sixth match point.
She remains on course to become Australia’s first French Open champion since Margaret Court 46 years ago, having never progressed past the second round at Roland Garros.
“That is the hardest thing I have ever had to do,” Barty said.
“I fought my hardest and it feels amazing.”