Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova to vie for Kremlin Cup title

23 October 2015 06:01

Defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova are set for an all-Russian clash in the women's final of the Kremlin Cup after contrasting victories in the last-four on Friday.

On centre court in Moscow, world number 31 Pavlyuchenkova had to fight from a set down against compatriot and qualifier Daria Kasatkina to finally win 2-6 6-2 6-4 in just over two hours.

Kuznetsova, ranked 32 in the world, had an easier time of it against Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko, the Russian needing less than 90 minutes to win 6-2 6-4.

Pavlyuchenkova and Kuznetsova may be neck and neck in the rankings, but the latter has exactly twice the number of WTA singles titles to her name at 14 and boasts two Grand Slam triumphs as well.

In the men's draw, there were nearly similar tales for seeds Roberto Bautista Agut and Philipp Kohlschreiber in their respective matches, as both progressed into the semi-finals.

Spaniard Bautista Agut beat Lucas Pouille 6-4 6-2, with Kohlschreiber swapping the set scores around for a 6-2 6-4 victory over Robin Haase.

Source: PA