PARIS — Samantha Stosur vs. Francesca Schiavone sounds a little like a first-round pairing, and a year ago at the French Open, it was.

Stosur won that matchup between two veteran players who had never made a splash in a Grand Slam tournament. On Saturday they'll meet again, this time in an improbable final.

It's hard to say whose run to the last round has been more surprising. Stosur has beaten former No. 1 Justine Henin, current No. 1 Serena Williams and former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in her past three matches. Schiavone eliminated four consecutive seeded players, including two in the top five.

Back home, their success is big news. Schiavone, 29, is the first Italian woman to reach a Grand Slam final. Stosur, 26, is first Australian woman to do so in 30 years.

It's causing a lot more buzz than when they met in the first round.

"I don't actually remember that much about that match," Stosur said.

When Schiavone was asked if she could have imagined her current success back then, she replied: "A year ago? No. I had to change a lot of things. ... I had big problems. So I had to turn this problem into hurdles to overcome."

In her 39th career Grand Slam, Schiavone has cleared every hurdle so far. She had never previously advanced beyond the quarterfinals in a major event.

The lineup for the men's semifinals today included some surprises, too. Journeyman Jurgen Melzer, who never advanced beyond the third round in his previous 31 major tournaments, was to play four-time champion Rafael Nadal. Another first-time Grand Slam semifinalist, Tomas Berdych, was to face last year's runner-up, Robin Soderling.