Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reached her first Grand Slam final on Wednesday by defeating Tamara Zidansek at the French Open semi-finals.

Pavlyuchenkova, the world number 32, faced 85th-ranked Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia for a place in the final.

Also read: Perfect strangers as first-time quartet contest French Open semi-finals

“There are so many emotions to reach a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time,” 29-year-old Pavlyunchenkova had said. She had fallen at the quarter-final stage at the majors on six previous occasions since her 2007 debut.

She added: “I always had the tennis. Mentally I’m probably more solid now. Just trying to play smarter tennis. I’m working harder.”

At the age of 14, Pavlyuchenkova won two junior Grand Slam titles and became the junior world No 1. She has been continuously ranked inside the top 50 since 3 November 2008. Her career-high ranking came in 2011 when Pavlyuchenkova was World No 13.

Also read: Nadal in his kingdom, Djoko charging ahead; chapter 58 loading…

Between the 2008 French Open and the 2020 Australian Open, she participated in 48 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, a record eighth-longest streak of consecutive Grand Slam tournament appearances in history.

She has 12 singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour. Pavlyuchenkova’s wins at the 2014 Open GDF Suez and the 2014 Kremlin Cup are by far the highest point in her career.

She has featured in Grand Slam quarterfinals at the 2011 French Open, the 2011 US Open, the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2017, 2019 and 2020 Australian Opens.