Reigning Roland Garros men's singles champion Alfie Hewett battled back from the brink to beat world No. 2 Gustavo Fernandez in the semi-finals and keep his title defence alive in Paris.

Hewett hit back from 5-1 down in the final set and saved three match points in the deciding tiebreak to prevail 1-6 7-5 7-6(8) in two hours, 29 minutes to set up a final clash with Shingo Kunieda on Monday.

"[I'm] a little bit in disbelief," admitted the 23-year-old. "Didn't think it was going my way. The match was heavily in his favour. He's very much a confidence sort of player, and when the momentum is going his way, it's very tough to stop that.

"So I don't really know what I did. I think I just tried to make a few more balls and be a bit more brave in my approach. I got myself back into the match at 5-5, and from there it was fairly even - just a couple of points in it.

"I think for me, this was the match of my life - so far."

There were echoes of Hewett's victory in last year's final over Belgium's Joachim Gerard, but it was another match that came to mind when the Briton found himself match point down against the Argentine.

"What's going through my mind is the US Open final last year, when I was 6-3 down in the match tiebreak in the final against Shingo," he said. "I had nothing else on my mind apart from making sure that I made balls in the court and just tried to be as aggressive as possible and hope that maybe Gustavo would miss a few.

"It's very cliché of me to say this, but tennis is never over until it's over. You have to really believe that down to the core. I think for me I have had so many matches where I have done that from positions where they probably write me off, and I have that confidence that whatever the scoreline is in the match that it can turn around so easily."

Kunieda's route to the final was only marginally less dramatic, the 45-time Grand Slam champion also recovering from a set down to beat France's Stephane Houdet 5-7 6-0 6-4 in two hours, 28 minutes - one less that the Hewett-Fernandez epic.

This was the 61st career meeting between the two since 2006, and although Kunieda holds a healthy 48-13 lead in their head-to-head, the Frenchman has done more than enough to he held in high esteem by the seven-time Roland Garros champion.  

“When I play Stephane it is always special," said the Japanese 37-year-old. "Stephane is my greatest rival and he always plays great. Today he was amazing, but I was able to win thanks to my mental toughness.”

The world No. 1 holds a 12-9 win-loss record against Hewett, including that narrow US Open final win in September, but the Briton ended a four-match losing streak with victory in their most recent encounter at the Australian Open in February.

"Can't get much tougher than the world No. 1," Hewett said. "I have had to do it the hard way, but it kind of brings out the best tennis, because you don't really have a choice when you play against these guys. He's someone I love playing against. We've had some great battles."

Top seeds Diede De Groot and Yui Kamiji eased through to Sunday's women's singles final with a pair of straight-sets victories in the semis.

World No. 1 De Groot beat compatriot Aniek van Koot 6-1 6-1 while defending champion Kamiji, the world No. 2, downed South Africa's Kgothatso Montjane 6-0 6-4.

In the quad singles draw, Dylan Alcott extended his unblemished singles record in Paris with a 6-3 6-3 win over David Wagner to book his place in a third successive final.

The Australian, who won the inaugural title in 2019 and defended his crown last October, will face Netherlands' Sam Schroder in Monday's final after the Dutchman ousted No. 2 seed Andy Lapthorne 6-1 6-4.

The quad doubles title will be decided on Sunday as Alcott and Schroder face two-time US Open champions and three-time Australian Open champions Lapthorne and Wagner. 

Hewett and Fernandez were on the opposite side of the net once more on Saturday as the men’s doubles got underway, with another British comeback required.

Defending champions and top seeds Hewett and Gordon Reid secured a 2-6 6-2 (10-8) victory over 2019 Roland Garros champs Fernandez and Kunieda. The Brits will play familiar opponents in Sunday’s final, after two-time champions Houdet and Nicolas Peifer defeated Gerard and Frederic Cattaneo 6-1 6-4. 

The women’s doubles gets underway on Sunday, as top seeds De Groot and Van Koot begin their quest for a fourth successive title in Paris against Montjane and Dana Mathewson. In the other semi-final, two-time former champions Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley face first-time Grand Slam partnership Angelica Bernal and Emmanuelle Morch.