French Open 2017: Simona Halep saves match point against Elina Svitolina in reaching last four

Romania's Halep trailed 3-6 1-5, but mounted a stunning recovery to save the match point during the second set tie-break which she won 8-6 before racing away with the match by whitewashing a fading Svitlonia in the third set on Suzanne-Lenglen Court.

Ukrainian Svitolina saved four set points at 5-6 in the second set and then had a match point in the tiebreak which Halep saved with a brave backhand winner that kissed the sideline.

"She played unbelievable tennis in the first set until the end of the second set," Halep told reporters. "When I sat down at 2-5 (in the second set) I just said the match is lost.

"Then I started to feel more relaxed maybe because I thought it's finished. I changed the rhythm. I put some high balls. I just tried to make her move more.

"She played well. Then I played better. So all is good."

Halep will face Karolina Pliskova in the semi-finals on Thursday.

In the other half of the draw, Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko will take on Swiss Timea Bacsinszky.

The 22-year-old Svitolina raced into a five-game lead in the first set but Halep rallied to win three games on the bounce.

But Svitolina, appearing in a Grand Slam quarter-final for only the second time, held her nerve to take the first set.

The second set opened with a break of the Halep serve and when another in the fifth of the set, it seemed like it was only a matter of time.

Yet Halep continued to apply the pressure to win six games on the bounce to get back on serve as she began to find her range to find some barely-believable winners.

The Romanian number had three set points to send it to a decider, but Svitolina dug deep to ensure the tie-break that Halep eventually took.

3-Simona Halep (Romania) beat 5-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 3-6 7-6(6) 6-0

2-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) beat 28-Caroline Garcia (France) 7-6(3) 6-4