Francesca Schiavone of Italy and Olga Govortsova of Belarus advanced to the final of the dual ATP and WTA Kremlin Cup with straight-sets victories on Saturday.
Schiavone, seeded No 8, beat Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-0 to reach her second straight final in as many weeks, while Govortsova ousted Russia's Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 6-1 to reach her second career final.
Schiavone, the only seed left in the women's tournament, is 1-10 in WTA Tour finals, winning her only title at the Gastein Ladies in 2007. The 24th-ranked Italian lost to Samantha Stosur of Australia in the final in Osaka, Japan, last Sunday.
Schiavone, runner-up here in 2005, broke Bondarenko decisively in the 10th game of the first set and dominated the second set which she won to love to reach her third final this season. "I was more aggressive today," Schiavone said. "At 5-2 she played too good, very good but then I was pushing and took my chance. I think I played better today."
Schiavone is now 4-2 against Bondarenko, who is ranked No 36 in the world. Bondarenko won her only title by beating the Italian in the final in Luxembourg in 2006.
After an exchange of breaks, unheralded Govortsova broke Kleybanova two more times in the first set. The 67th-ranked Belarusian was 4-1 up in the second when Kleybanova called for a doctor to have her right shoulder and back massaged. At 5-2 and 40-15 down on her serve in the seventh game, Kleybanova saved four match points before Govortsova beat her with a forehand cross on the fifth deuce.
{{/usCountry}}After an exchange of breaks, unheralded Govortsova broke Kleybanova two more times in the first set. The 67th-ranked Belarusian was 4-1 up in the second when Kleybanova called for a doctor to have her right shoulder and back massaged. At 5-2 and 40-15 down on her serve in the seventh game, Kleybanova saved four match points before Govortsova beat her with a forehand cross on the fifth deuce.
{{/usCountry}}Later, sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia was scheduled to play Ukraine's Illya Marchenko in the men's semifinals, while local favorite Mikhail Youzhny, seeded third, will face Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.