After failing to close out Martina Hingis in the second set, Pierce ended her Swiss opponent's bid for her first French Open title with a dramatic 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 semifinal victory today.

On Saturday, Pierce will attempt to win her second Grand Slam title and become the first Frenchwoman to capture the women's title at Roland Garros since Francoise Durr in 1967. She won the 1995 Australian Open title, was runner-up to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain in the 1994 French Open final.

Pierce, seeded sixth, will face fifth seed Conchita Martinez of Spain, who rolled into her first French Open final earlier today with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory over Sanchez-Vicario, a three-time champion.

After squandering a match point and allowing Hingis back into the match in the second set, Pierce kept her composure in the final set as she broke the Swiss teenager for a 3-1 lead. Hingis broke back in the next game, but Pierce immediately broke again for a 4-2 advantage, despite the onset of leg cramps.

"They (cramps) just came all of a sudden at 4-2 in the third set," Pierce said. "I hit a backhand and just fell to the ground. I've never had cramps before, it was the first time in my life."

Pierce held for a 5-2 lead, and Hingis fell behind 15-30 in the eighth game on a brilliant rally which saw Hingis run off the court to hit a backhand down the line and Pierce run it down for a forehand crosscourt winner.

Two points later, the Parisian crowd was brought to its feet as Hingis hit a forehand wide to conclude the two-hour, 10-minute match and give Pierce her first win over Hingis in their last eight meetings.

"This is how it is in sport," Pierce said. "Sometimes you have to forget that you're playing a friend. We understand, both of us, that we are going to have to play against each other. We have to forget about those relationships. This is nothing personal."

Pierce was treated for severe leg cramping after the match, which will not affect her playing doubles with Hingis on Friday or competing in the singles final.

The French Open remains the only Grand Slam title that has eluded Hingis. She had lost in the final two of the last three years, including last year's emotion-laden loss to Steffi Graf where her temper got the best of her.

"I don't need the French Open to survive. I'll stick with that one rule," Hingis said. "There are many other players who have never won this tournament. I have a lot of years in front of me."

The match between the doubles partners saw seven breaks of serve in the first 10 games of the match. Pierce managed to break Hingis for the fourth time to take the first set, 6-4.

Frustrated, Hingis got the crowd to jeer her when she lost her serve to go down 1-3 in the second set, slamming her racket to the red clay. She managed to break back in the next game, but lost her serve again to give Pierce a chance to serve out the match at 5-3.

The world No. 1 would not go down without a fight, breaking Pierce at love to move within 4-5, but Hingis faced her first match point in the next game off a backhand crosscourt winner by Pierce.

Reminiscent of her U.S. Open quarterfinal match last year against Lindsay Davenport when she could not capitalize on two match points, Pierce failed to close out Hingis and began to unravel. She committed three straight unforced errors as Hingis held serve for only the fourth time in 10 service games.

Pierce's unraveling continued in the next game when she got broken at love, the 11th break of the match. Hingis forced the deciding set in the next game.

"I came fighting back," Hingis said. "She had a match point in the second set and I was able to win the set, but then I was probably too tired in the third. She just kind of overpowered me."

Both players broke serve seven times, although Pierce had more break point opportunities, 19-10. Pierce also held the advantage in winners, 29-20.

Pierce, 25, will be appearing in her fourth career Grand Slam final. She became the first Frenchwoman in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title with her victory over Sanchez-Vicario in Melbourne five years ago. In addition to losing in the French Open final six years ago, she was runner-up to Hingis at the 1997 Australian Open.

Entering the match with a 3-14 lifetime record against Sanchez-Vicario, Martinez turned around her fortunes against her compatriot by dictating play throughout and forcing the eighth seed into making 32 unforced errors.

"She was much more consistent than me today," Sanchez-Vicario said. "But I don't think she won the match, I think I lost it."

Martinez closed out the 79-minute rout with a brilliant crosscourt forehand to move into her third career Grand Slam final. She won her only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1994 and was runner-up at the Australian Open in 1998.

"I'm playing great tennis," Martinez said. "I was really concentrated out there and focused to win this match. I must say it was the first match I felt really comfortable out there."

The 28-year-old Martinez has won 32 titles in her 12-year career, but has endured off-the-court problems the last couple of years. Due to the help of a psychologist, she has played with a renewed vigor this season, compiling a 36-10 record and reaching three finals overall.

"I decided to play tennis with a smile on my face which has been really difficult the last couple of years," Martinez said. "Sometimes it's difficult when you've played 13 years on the Tour, to have the same desire, the same results. But right now I'm having fun playing and I'm feeling comfortable with my strokes."

Pierce is 10-6 lifetime against Martinez.