Paris: Austria's Dominic Thiem has earned a place in his maiden grand slam final at the French Open with a 7-5 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 victory over Italy's Marco Cecchinato.

Seventh seed Thiem, 24, resisted fightbacks from the world No.72 in the opening two sets of their semi-final on Friday. He saved three set points in the second before winning an epic tiebreak, something which Cecchinato has become famous for this year at Roland Garros.

"The big key was the second set, it was a close tiebreak and if I lost it, I didn't want that because it would be a tough match," said Thiem.

"It's a very nice feeling to come through that and make the final here for the first time."

The 25-year-old Italian's streak came to an end after two hours and 17 minutes, and world No.8 Thiem will now face either 10-time champion Rafael Nadal or Juan Martin del Potro in Sunday's final.