Thiem first man into French Open final
Dominic Thiem is through to the final of the French Open after a three-set victory over Marco Cecchinato.
The seventh seed, playing in his third straight semi-final at Roland Garros, went one step better than the previous two years to reach a maiden grand slam final.
Cecchinato, the world No.72 from Italy, had sent Novak Djokovic packing in the quarter-finals but Thiem's class on clay proved too much.
Thiem was soon showing off his power, breaking in the first game, on his way to clinching the opening set.
The drop shots which helped account for Djokovic kept Thiem on his toes, but once the Austrian took a marathon second-set tiebreak with his fifth set point Cecchinato's unlikely run in Paris was all but over.
Thiem duly raced through the third to wrap up a 7-5 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 victory and now faces either 10-time champion Rafael Nadal or resurgent fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro.
"It's very important to regenerate now," Thiem said. "I will watch the second semi-final to study my next opponent a little bit, then full power on Sunday."
