The French open women’s finalists this year are two underdogs: On Friday, Ashleigh Barty from Australia and Czech player Marketa Vondrousova unexpectedly booked spots in the tournament’s gold medal game.
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The 23-year-old Australian survived a nail-biting three-set thriller against American teen Amanda Anisimova, who stunned none other than the reigning Roland Garros champion Simona Halep in her respective quarterfinal.
Barty was leading 5-1 in the opening set before suddenly losing control of the game, allowing her 17-year-old rival to make a comeback and win the set on a tie-break 6-7.
The eighth-seed Barty, who seemed to have recuperated after a dissipating start, then reversed the course of the match, winning the two following sets with a twin score of 6-3.
The unseeded Czech sensation Vondrousova needed just two sets to seal victory against Britain’s fifth-seed Johanna Konta 7-5 7-6, reaching her maiden French Open final.
The 19-year-old Czech player –ranked 38th in the world– has not yet dropped a set at the major clay court tournament.
The women’s final is scheduled to take place on Saturday if weather doesn’t force changes to the French Open match schedule.