Nadal, Thiem set Sunday showdown

Paris: Ruthless Rafael Nadal punished Juan Martin del Potro for missed opportunities as he reached his 11th French Open final with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory on Friday.

Argentine Del Potro often had Nadal in trouble in a ferocious first set but paid heavily for failing to convert any of the six break points that came his way at 1-1 and 4-4.

Ten-time champion Nadal then pounced in the 10th game to take the opening set and fifth seed Del Potro's challenged evaporated in the Court Philippe Chatrier sunshine.

Nadal took a stranglehold on the match and powered on to victory in two hours 14 minutes to set up a final against Austria's seventh seed Dominic Thiem.

Austrian Dominic Thiem's rise to the top continued when he ended unheralded Italian Marco Cecchinato's run to reach the final of the French Open with a 7-5, 7-6(10), 6-1 win.

The seventh seed, the first Austrian man to reach a Grand Slam final since Thomas Muster triumphed at Roland Garros in 1995, will take on either Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro or 10-times champion Rafael Nadal.

Cecchinato, the world number 72, played fearlessly and used his whole arsenal of claycourt weapons, but he came up short against the only player to beat Nadal on his favourite surface this season.

The 24-year-old Thiem, the youngest man since Nadal to reach the final in Paris, ended the contest on his first match point with a forehand winner.

"Maybe the experience helped a little bit but the big key was the second set tiebreak because it was very close and I saved I think three set points," said Thiem.

"If lost that tiebreak it would have been a very close match I think and I didn't want that.

"Of course it's very important to have a good recovery now. I'll watch the other semi-final to study... my opponent and then it's full power on Sunday."

Cecchinato, who was suspended for match-fixing in 2016 before being cleared on a technicality, proved to be no pushover even though he had never won a match at a major before this year's French Open.

Thiem was the aggressor early on and he broke in the first game before holding to love for a 2-0 lead. Cecchinato's nerves settled and the Sicilian unleashed some trademark backhand winners but Thiem had too much pace and power.

Cecchinato mixed it up with drop shots and gradually found his range to set up three break points at 4-3, which Thiem saved thanks to his strong first serve.

The Austrian netted an easy volley to give another opportunity to Cecchinato, which he seized, forcing his opponent to a backhand error. 

Thiem sent Cecchinato scurrying around the court before breaking decisively for a 6-5 lead with a lovely forehand winner. He then held serve to bag the first set.

The second set turned into a tight tactical battle with neither able to break serve.

Thiem's massive forehand allowed him to race into a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak.

But the Austrian got nervous and wasted several set points, one of them when he shanked a routine volley at 6-4.

"When I missed that volley it wasn't a very nice feeling. It was destructive a little bit," Thiem, who won two claycourt tournaments this season, said.