Lucie Safarova races into first grand slam final at French Open

Lucie Safarova reached her first grand slam final on Thursday as she produced an impressive display to beat former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.

The Czech quickly put a shaky start behind her at Roland Garros to come storming back into the match, while errors blighted Ivanovic's attempts to stay in the contest.

Safarova secured her place in Saturday's showpiece thanks to another stunning forehand, the shot giving her a 7-5 7-5 win and extending Ivanovic's long wait for a fourth grand slam final.

It was actually the Serbian who settled quickest, Ivanovic immediately into her groove with some stunning forehands to win the opening three games, as Safarova failed to control a volley to give her opponent an early break.

However, Safarova slowly began to find her rhythm and, as she did, the confidence seemed to drain out of Ivanovic, who began to make errors on a regular basis.

After failing to convert two break chances in the sixth game, Ivanovic suddenly found herself on the back foot as Safarova's forehand took centre stage.

The Czech claimed her first break in the ninth game thanks to a gem of a backhand return and perfectly-placed forehand smash, and she did not look back, winning the final three games to take the set.

It marked a remarkable turnaround for Safarova, who produced two more attacking forehand winners before moving ahead as Ivanovic fired long.

Safarova's momentum was halted at the start of the second as Ivanovic held, but things began to unravel again in the world number seven's next service game.

Having luckily survived a potential double fault, the seventh seed handed Safarova a glimpse of the final as a backhand slice drifted just wide.

After a comprehensive service game of her own consolidated the 13th seed's lead - Ivanovic again wayward as she failed to win a single point.

Six service games passed by to present Safarova with a chance to serve for the match in the 10th, but Ivanovic was not beaten just yet.

Although she missed the first of three chances to break with more unforced errors, she eventually found a way through as a Safarova backhand clipped the net and dropped out, levelling the set.

The parity was only brief, though, as a piercing backhand from Safarova gave her another opportunity, and this time she made no mistake, sealing the match with another trusty forehand cross court.