Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Tamara Zidansek in straight sets to reach a first Grand Slam final at the French Open on Thursday at a record 52nd attempt, as great rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic prepared for their blockbuster clash. 

Pavlyuchenkova, 29, defeated World No. 85 Zidansek 7-5, 6-3. Pavlyuchenkova, a quarter-finalist in Paris a decade ago, became the first woman to play more than 50 majors before making her first final, breaking the previous mark of 44 set by 2015 US Open runner-up Roberta Vinci.