Mary Pierce delighted her home fans by crushing Russian Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday to set up a French Open final against fellow-former champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.

The 21st seed from France [Images] returned to her brilliant best with perfect timing to reach her third final on the Paris clay and the first since her 2000 triumph.

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"It's incredible," said Pierce, 30, who was cheered on by a partisan 15,000 crowd packing centre court on a warm, sunny day.

"I have shocked myself...and I'm so happy."

Likhovtseva, the 16th seed, was unable to cope with Pierce's superior power and determination, bowing out after 58 minutes when her opponent fired a forehand winner on her first match point.

Pierce will return to centre court on Saturday to face Belgian Henin-Hardenne, the 2003 champion, who reached the final with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Nadia Petrova.

MERCILESS DISPLAY

The Florida-based Pierce, who was a teenager when she first reached the final in Paris in 1994, rolled back the years with a merciless display.

"I was very strong mentally from the first to the last point," she said. "I played exactly like I had to."

Pierce was on top early on, breaking Likhovtseva with a forehand winner in the second game and taking the first set in 32 minutes courtesy of one of many unforced errors from the Russian.

The second set was even more one-sided, the 29-year-old Likhovtseva, who had never advanced beyond the third round on her 10 previous visits to Roland Garros, looking nervous and helpless at times.

The Canadian-born Pierce, who had a difficult relationship with the French public for years but is now their darling, faces a tough match against 10th seed Henin-Hardenne, who won all their three previous meetings.

"I know it will be very hard but I don't want to think about the final yet," said Pierce.

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