PARIS (AP) _ Gaston Gaudio briefly lost track of the score but knew when to celebrate after he reached the French Open final by beating Argentine compatriot David Nalbandian 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-0 Friday.

The unseeded Gaudio will play in his first Grand Slam final Sunday against the winner of the second semifinal between another Argentine, No. 3 Guillermo Coria, and No. 9 Tim Henman of Britain.

``I never thought I was going to be in the final of such a big tournament like this,'' Gaudio said.

He rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the second set, winning five consecutive games and overcoming two set points.

Confusion about the score came with Gaudio serving at 5-2 in the tiebreaker. He erroneously served from the deuce side of the court, and neither Nalbandian nor chair umpire Andreas Egli noticed the mistake until after the point, which Gaudio won for a 6-2 lead. The point counted, and Egli told Gaudio to serve again from the deuce side. Nalbandian, frustrated that the set was slipping away, briefly argued.

``So now he's going to serve two points to the same side?'' Nalbandian said. ``Maybe you have to change to another umpire.''

Gaudio was amused by his mistake.

``I made history,'' he said. ``It's the first time something like that happened in the French Open.''

With the situation resolved, Nalbandian overcame three consecutive set points to reach 6-5, but Gaudio then closed out the set with an overhead slam.

From there, the No. 8-seeded Nalbandian unraveled, struggling to keep the ball in the court. He won only seven points in the final set, and on the last point he dumped a forehand into the net, his 46th unforced error.

Nalbandian said he hurt his ribs in the quarterfinals and was hampered by the injury, especially when serving.

``Sometimes you're not feeling so good and you can't win any matches,'' he said.Regarding the confusion about the score in the tiebreaker, Nalbandian faulted Egli.

``He did a very big mistake, like both of us,'' Nalbandian said. ``The umpire has to be concentrating on the game. I think that kind of mistake is so big, they have to have a fine or something.''

Gaudio became Argentina's first male finalist at the French Open since 1982 runner-up Guillermo Vilas, who watched the match from the third row.

``It's a dream to reach the French Open final,'' Gaudio said. ``It's a great day for me.''

The last Argentine to win a men's Grand Slam title was Vilas at the 1979 Australian Open.

The stadium was half empty for the start of the first men's semifinal on another chilly, damp day at Roland Garros. Gaudio broke three times to win the first set; Nalbandian broke three times to build his lead in the second.

But the smaller, speedier Gaudio kept extending rallies by retrieving shots in the corners, and Nalbandian's strokes became increasingly erratic as his frustration mounted.

Trailing 3-0 in the third set, Nalbandian even tried hitting a stroke between his legs. The attempt came as he retreated after the lob, and his desperate shot _ with his back to the net _ landed wide.

Gaudio, 25, never wavered as he closed in on the biggest victory of his career. Reflecting his steadiness, he finished with 27 winners and just 19 errors.

After closing out the 2{-hour victory, Gaudio received a congratulatory slap on the back from Nalbandian, then raised his arms in triumph. He looked to the sky and covered his eyes, sat down and began to sob.

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