PARIS -- Steffi Graf is back.
On the wind-swept red clay of Roland Garros, Graf beat Monica Seles 6-7, (2-7), 6-3, 6-4 Thursday to reach her first Grand Slam final since she won the French Open in 1996.In Saturday's championship match, Graf will go for her sixth French Open title against Martina Hingis, the 18-year-old Swiss player who succeeded Graf as No. 1 in March 1997.
Hingis, seeking the only Grand Slam title she has failed to win, beat defending champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
"It's very exciting to be there Saturday because not many people, not even myself, thought I'd be there," said Graf, who will turn 30 in less than two weeks.
Graf, the winner of 21 Grand Slam titles who spent a record 377 weeks as No. 1 before being dethroned by Hingis, has battled a series of injuries in recent years. She missed eight months between 1997 and 1998 because of a knee injury and has fought back from other ailments that have delayed or halted her comeback attempts.
"A lot of moments I was doubting what I was doing out there," Graf said. "But I knew the love for the game was always there. It's great to be in the final, because when I came here I didn't think I'd be able to do it."
But Graf is injury-free now and playing confident tennis again.
"Maybe my legs are a little bit heavy, but nothing is hurting," Graf said after rallying to beat Seles, who won three straight French titles between 1990 and 1992.
In swirling wind after a rain storm, their showdown was not quite as gripping as the 1992 final, when Seles won the third set 10-8.
Seles kept playing to Graf's weaker backhand side and won the first set comfortably in the tiebreaker. But the German was far from finished. She broke serve for a 3-1 lead and won the second set when Seles hit a return long.
In the third, Graf immediately broke Seles' serve again, only to see Seles break back in the fourth game.
In the ninth game, Graf stepped up the pressure, hitting her backhand slice deeper, giving Seles little time to adjust her two-fisted shots. Under pressure, Seles made several errors and lost her serve again.
It proved to be decisive. Two forehand winners gave Graf a match point and she converted it when Seles hit a return long.