Dinara Safina shanked shots, endured a flurry of double-faults, screamed profanities at herself and still advanced to an all-Russian final at the French Open.

The combustible Safina beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-3 6-3 in the semi-finals on Thursday and needs one more win for her first Grand Slam title. On Saturday, the top-ranked Safina will play seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat Samantha Stosur of Australia, 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-3.

Safina, ranked No 1, won despite erratic play that included seven double-faults. “I’m trying to control my emotions,” she said. “I’m not playing my best, but still it’s not easy to beat me.”

Safina was runner-up to Ana Ivanovic last year at Roland Garros, and lost this year’s Australian Open final to Serena Williams. She has an 8-5 record against Kuznetsova, and they split two meetings in finals last month. “I really want to win this tournament,” Safina said. “I had a very good experience last year, and I hope to do better this year.”

Safina’s ranking has drawn criticism because she has yet to win a major championship. But in the four tournaments since she climbed to No 1 in April, she’s 20-1 with two titles, a runner-up finish and the berth in the French Open final. “Since I became No 1, I’m playing finals and winning the titles,” she said. “So how much more proof I need to give the people that I think I deserve that spot?”

Her brother, Marat Safin, is a former No 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion. The family’s notorious temper was evident in the semi-final. At least twice Safina screamed a vulgarity at herself in English that TV microphones picked up, and an announcer apologised to the European audience.

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