Irina-Camelia Begu came from a set down to defeat Sara Sorribes Tormo 3-6 6-3 6-4 to set up a final against Lucia Bronzetti at the Palermo Ladies Open.
A contest that lasted three hours and 12 minutes, finishing just 20 minutes shy of 2am local time, began well for Sorribes Tormo, with the fourth seed taking the opening set.
The Romanian came storming back in the second though and was forcing her opponent all the way back to the advertising curtain with a series of deep shots, while also impressing on her own serve, getting 90 per cent of her first serves in across the set.
Begu ultimately served out to take it 6-3 as the local time went past midnight, but there was plenty more to come as a third set that moved at a glacial pace in the early hours of Sunday morning kept the more dedicated fans in the stands away from their beds.
An hour after the second set had concluded, the score in the third was just 3-2 to Begu after the sixth seed forced a break against Sorribes Tormo, who was warned with a time violation during the game.
That seemed to be a turning point as one break became two, before the Spaniard broke back to initially frustrate Begu, only for the Romanian to serve out victory at the second time of asking.
She will face Bronzetti in Sunday's final after the world number 78 also came from behind to win her semi-final with compatriot Jasmine Paolini.
It was a remarkable turnaround considering Paolini won the opening set 6-0, with Bronzetti only winning 33 per cent of points on her own first serve compared to Paolini's 79 per cent on hers.
However, Bronzetti found several more gears in the second set, winning 83 per cent on her first serve this time, and she carried that form into the third, recovering brilliantly to take the match 0-6 6-3 6-3.
Svitolina to face Rybakina after passing Bogdan test
Elina Svitolina will face Elena Rybakina in a marquee fourth-round tie at the French Open after successfully moving into the second week.
The Ukrainian defeated Ana Bogdan 7-5 6-2 on Saturday to reach the last 16 for the sixth time in her career.
Both players struggled on serve, with 11 breaks in total during the match, but it was Svitolina who ultimately emerged triumphant after a back-and-forth contest and a rain delay, firing 28 winners.
Fifteenth seed Svitolina will now hope to halt the Paris charge of fourth seed Rybakina, who is yet to drop a set at the tournament so far. It will be a tough ask, but Svitolina does lead the head-to-head 2-1.
An all-American clash between Madison Keys and Emma Navarro on Court Suzanne-Lenglen was one of the other standout matches.
Navarro had never before reached the fourth round at a major, while Keys was a former semi-finalist at Roland-Garros.
But it was Navarro who claimed a hard-fought victory, getting the better of two tie-breaks to win 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) to book a huge clash against second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Jasmine Paolini is also through to round four after seeing off former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-1 3-6 6-0.
Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, is the youngest player to reach the French Open last 16 since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006 after beating Peyton Stearns in straight sets.
The 17-year-old raced to a 6-2 6-1 win in only 67 minutes.
Sabalenka and Rybakina had earlier completed routine victories over Paula Badosa and Elise Mertens respectively.
Zverev edges Griekspoor in four-hour classic at French Open
Alexander Zverev reached the fourth round of the French Open with a thrilling five-set win over Tallon Griekspoor, finding a second wind after a stirring rally from the Dutchman.
Zverev triumphed 3-6 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-6 (10-3) at the end of a gruelling four-hour, 17-minute contest on Court Philippe-Chatrier, teeing up a last-16 meeting with Holger Rune or Jozef Kovalik.
Zverev looked to have weathered an early storm when he fought back after losing the opener to go 2-1 up, but Griekspoor refused to go away and came roaring back in the fourth set, which lasted almost an hour.
The world number four appeared to be up against it when he was broken in the first game of the decider, and his frustrations got the better of him as he yelled at the umpire before being broken again.
However, he immediately hit back with two breaks of his own to go from 4-1 down to 4-4, eventually forcing a decisive tie-break.
He found another gear from there, sapping Griekspoor's confidence with some excellent play at the net, with a fine passing shot past his stranded opponent a highlight before he clinched victory with an ace.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Having warmed up for Roland Garros by winning the Italian Open, Zverev has now won nine straight matches on clay for the first time since 2018, when he won 13 consecutive contests on the surface at Munich, Madrid and Rome.
Medvedev passes Machac test to reach French Open fourth round
Daniil Medvedev dug deep to hold off Tomas Machac's threat in the French Open third round, claiming a 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 victory on Saturday.
Medvedev was pushed all the way to a first-set tie-break but took the opener, spurred on by an electric atmosphere on Court Suzanne Lenglen, before storming through the second.
Machac, who shocked Novak Djokovic in the Geneva Open semi-final last week, refused to back down, and soared through the third set, though he could not hold onto his building momentum.
With the prospect of a deciding set creeping closer, Medvedev rallied and held off a stubborn Machac, gaining a decisive break in the 10th game of the final set before a mistake from the Czech gifted him the victory.
Medvedev, who is chasing a second major, will face either Alex de Minaur or Jan-Lennard Struff in the fourth round.
Data Debrief: Medvedev hits form on clay
Medvedev has a win percentage of 76 per cent on clay since 2023 in ATP events, compared to just 44 per cent on the same surface between 2016 and 2022.
The world number five has now reached the round of 16 for the 15th time in his career at Grand Slams; only Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny and Yevgeny Kafelnikov have reached the fourth round more often in Grand Slams amongst Russians.
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