Dementieva will be going for her ninth WTA title when she meets Kuznetsova in the final

Kuznetsova, tournament second seed, overcame Serbian fourth seed Jankovic 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, before eighth-seeded Dementieva was also stretched before beating unseeded Italian Schiavone 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Both matches took almost three hours.

The all-Russian final comes on the back of another all-Russian affair in the WTA Qatar Open last week, when Maria Sharapova defeated compatriot Vera Zvonareva in the Doha final.

Kuznetsova twice took the lead in the opening set against Jankovic, before immediately dropping her own serve. The Russian failed to take advantage of a set point at 5-4, and her missed opportunity led to Jankovic coming back strongly to wrap up the first set.

However it was the Serb who then let her chance slip away as Kuznetsova claimed the next three games to level the match at one set apiece, and after an early exchange of breaks in the deciding set Kuznetsova squandered six match points on Jankovic's serve before serving out to love for victory.

"The match was going longer and longer and I was feeling better and better. I cannot explain it," Kuznetsova told reporters.

"I was far from my best game and it was very important to stay focused because usually when I play her I have so many chances and when I don't use them I get so frustrated.

"Today it was very important for me to get through it. I thought I did it pretty well, and in the third set I just had to stay calm and play my game."

Dementieva through in three

Later on centre court, Dementieva and Schiavone engaged in a succession of lengthy but highly entertaining rallies, some stretching to over 30 shots.

Dementieva led 5-3, but she allowed the Italian, who knocked out world number one Justine Henin on Thursday, to take the next four games and the first set.

However the Russian then lifted her game to level the match by winning the second set, and then closed the match out after sweeping to a 4-0 lead in the decider.

"The toughest part was losing the first set," said Dementieva.

"I was 5-3, serving for the set and had so many opportunities and didn't use them. I had to be able to stay calm and positive after losing that set and that was not easy.

"I'm glad I was able to fight and win the second set. That gave me so much confidence and I was finishing strongly in the third."

The Tier II event has prize money of $1.5 million.

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: