ROME, May 9 World No 1 Dinara Safina came from behind to win an epic contest with Venus Williams 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday and set up an all-Russian final at the Italian Open.
Safina rallied from a set and 2-0 down to earn the right to face her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, who barged past Belarussian Victoria Azarenka with a 6-2, 6-4 win.
The pair will meet in a final for the second week running after Kuznetsova beat Safina to capture the Stuttgart Grand Prix last Sunday and end a barren run stretching back to 2007.
American fourth seed Williams played the tidier, more intelligent tennis early on to go 4-1 and then 5-2 ahead.
Safina, who also fought back to get past China's Zheng Jie and Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez this week, refused to cave in and began to mixed up her game more.
She delivered some booming forehand winners to force a tiebreak but the American held her nerve to take it 7-3 with a dropshot.
Williams kept up the pace to go 2-0 up in the second set before Safina stormed back to win six of the next seven games to level the contest.
The Russian twice let a break advantage slip in the third set but she broke again with a powerful crosscourt backhand return.
She then saved four break points in the following game and failed to convert two match points before finally clinching an enthralling match that lasted over three hours.
Kuznetsova initially found it easy to attack 19-year-old Azarenka's serve and won the first set at a canter.
Azarenka began the second set by winning the first two games and was unlucky in the third, when Kuznetsova held a tough service game with the help of a bad call on the final point.
Friday's results (prefix number denotes seeding)
Semi-finals 1-Dinara Safina (Russia) bt 4-Venus Williams (US) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-4; 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) bt 6-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) 6-2, 6-4.
DAVYDENKO IN SEMIS
ESTORIL (Portugal) Former champion Nikolay Davydenko credited mental strength and a lack of worry with his rapid clay improvement after an injury comeback as he reached his second semi-final of the season at the Estoril Open on Friday.
The Russian, who lifted the 2003 title at the Estadio Nacional but lost the last of two finals last year to Roger Federer, has been storming trough the clay since returning following three months away with heel injury which kept him out for two months.
The second seed earned his last-four spot with a defeat of American Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-3. he lost to Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona semis last month.
Davydenko, who faces the winner from American James Blake and Frenchman Florent Serra, was joined in the final four by South American Paul Capdeville, who put out Spain's Oscar Hernandez 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Two French players were bidding for semi-finals, with top seed Gilles Simon playing Spain's Alberto Montanes and Florent Serra challenging on form American James Blake.
Results
Men's singles
Quarter-finals 7-Albert Montanes (Spain) bt 1-Gilles Simon (France) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); 4-James Blake (US) bt 8-Florent Serra (France) 6-4, 6-1; 2-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) bt 6-Mardy Fish (US) 6-4, 6-3; Paul Capdeville (Chile) bt Oscar Hernandez (Spain) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Women's singles
Semi-finals 6-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) bt 8-Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) 6-3, 6-1; Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) bt 7-Shahar Peer (Israel) 3-0 - Peer retired.
HEWITT DUMPED
MUNICH (Germany) Former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt slid out of the Munich Open on Friday, Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych ousting the Australian battler 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 in their quarter-final.
Unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy pulled off a shock win as he sent Croatian second seed Marin Cilic packing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Also moving into the semis was experienced Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who knocked out French seventh seed Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Completing the final four is German Daniel Brands, the world No 141, who was leading Italy's Potito Starace 6-4, 1-1 when the latter was forced to retire with a thigh problem.
Results
Quarter-finals Jeremy Chardy (France) bt 2-Marin Cilic (Croatia) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4; 4-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Lleyton Hewitt
(Australia) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); Daniel Brands (Germany) bt Potito Starace (Italy) 6-4, 1-1 - Starace retired; Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) bt 7-Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.—Agencies