Moscow: Samantha Stosur will face doubles partner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup after both players won in straight sets Friday.
Stosur extended her unbeaten run to eight matches by defeating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-4, while Kuznetsova beat second-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-3.
Also, defending men's champion Andreas Seppi of Italy made it into his fifth semifinal of the season after Edouard Roger-Vasselin retired with a neck strain while trailing 5-2.
In a rematch of last year's three-set semifinal match between former Grand Slam champions, Ivanovic took a 3-0 lead but Stosur broke back twice to win the opener. An early break in the second set was enough for the Australian to defeat the former top-ranked Ivanovic for the second straight year.
“Probably having a match won here last year, I certainly had a few things in my head that I wanted to try to do today against her,” Stosur said. “And right from the start it was kind of working and from that my confidence kind of built, and I was able to keep going and play well till the end.”
