Lucie Safarova elated after reaching maiden grand slam final in Paris

Lucie Safarova admitted she was finding it hard to come to terms with what she had achieved at the French Open following her semi-final victory.

The 13th seed booked her place in Saturday's showpiece " her maiden grand slam final appearance " with a 7-5 7-5 triumph over Ana Ivanovic, the Czech putting a slow start behind her to progress.

With the final in sight there were a few nerves, allowing Ivanovic briefly back into the match, but Safarova broke again before serving out for the match, and creating a new high point in her 12-year career.

"It's slowly sinking in, it's amazing, the happiness is unreal," she said.

"I started a little bit slow, I was not swinging as much and was slow on my feet. I slowly started to get into the rhythm and played really well to break back, then used the momentum to take the [first] set.

"When I realised I could be in the final I got a little bit tense, I was over-thinking and couldn't concentrate. My serve wasn't working, and it was a little bit of a fight.

"But when I lost the game I shook it off and started playing aggressive again and served it out."

Safarova " who will play in the doubles semi-final with Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Friday " faces Serena Williams in this weekend's showpiece.