Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova beat Australian pair Samantha Stosur and Paul Hanley

Paris: Tournament favourite Justine Henin-Hardenne and crowd favourite Mary Pierce set up a mouth-watering French Open final with crushing wins on Thursday.

Pierce, bathed in French adoration, overwhelmed Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-1, while Henin also outclassed a Russian opponent as she beat Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-3 in another one-sided semi-final.

There was, however, good news for Indian fans as Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova stormed into mixed doubles final with a straight set win over Samantha Stosur and Paul Hanley of Australia on Thursday.

The sixth seed Indo-American pair steamrolled unseeded Australians 6-2, 6-3 to keep alive their hopes of a third Grand Slam title together.

The duo had won the Australian Open and the Wimbledon title in 2003.

They will now face Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Fabrice Santoro of France, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 winners over fourth seeded Anastasia Myskina of Russia and Sweden’s Jonas Bjoerkman in the other semi-final.

Back to women’s singles, Pierce’s victory left the tempestuous history between the Canadian-born, Florida-based Frenchwoman and the Paris public as just a fading memory.

“It’s incredible,” the 30-year-old laughed. “I have shocked myself... I’m so happy.”

If her run to the final has been stupendous, victory in Saturday’s showpiece would be little short of miraculous.

She will be up against an opponent, however, whose status as favourite was further underlined against Petrova. The Belgian dynamo outgunned her seventh-seeded opponent to notch up her 23rd consecutive victory and reach her second Roland Garros final. “I’ve got a lot of memories... a lot of emotions here,” the 2003 French Open champion said. “It feels a little like being at home.”

Petrova was simply overwhelmed. “I don’t see anybody winning this tournament except Justine,” she said.

Nobody, however, had expected Pierce to win it five years ago when she knocked out Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Conchita Martinez to double her Grand Slam haul.

For once the French-speaking Henin will not have the crowd on her side and Pierce is playing on adrenaline.

On Thursday she was irresistible, rolling back the years to smash Likhovtseva off court. She pummelled groundstrokes, crunched serves, flighted delicate drop shots and ghosted volleys.

Likhovtseva, the 16th seed, withered in the face of Pierce’s superior power and determination, bowing out after just 58 minutes when the Frenchwoman fired a forehand winner on her first match point. (Agencies)