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MOSCOW : Former world number one Marat Safin defeated Russian compatriot and three-time champion Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 to reach the Kremlin Cup semi-finals on Friday.
Seventh seed Safin struck 17 aces to knock out the world number five and will now tackle Germany's Mischa Zverev for a place in Sunday's final where he will be hoping to win his first title since lifting the Australian Open in 2005.
Zverev reached his first career semi-final with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over Viktor Troicki of Serbia after trailing 5-1 in the deciding set and then having to save two match points.
"At 5-1 down I just relaxed and was on the way home in my thoughts," Zverev said.
"He was close to winning but I decided to make it my advantage and attack. It worked perfectly."
Fabrice Santoro reached the last four winning an all-French quarter-final 6-3, 2-0 after Paul-Henri Mathieu retired because of an illness.
In the Saturday's match for a place in the final, Santoro will meet unseeded Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, who defeated another Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-2.
In the WTA section of the 2.4-million-dollar joint event, world number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia set up a semi-final showdown with defending champion Elena Dementieva after beating Italian Flavia Penetta in the quarter-finals.
Jankovic, the top seed, was a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 winner over Penetta, recording her fifth victory over the 26-year-old Italian in as many meetings.
The duo traded breaks throughout the opening set, forcing a tiebreak, which Jankovic, who is seeking her season's fourth crown, won 8/6 for a one-set lead.
The Italian started the second set with an immediate break for a 3-1 advantage but Jankovic moved up a gear to take five consecutive games to win the set and the match.
"It was a tough match for me today and I didn't play it the way I wanted to," said the 23-year-old Jankovic, who had received on-court treatment for a sore back in Thursday's play.
"I felt a bit tired and was struggling myself all the way."
Jankovic will now face defending champion and third seed Dementieva, who advanced to the semis with a tough 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova.
"It wasn't an easy match. It was emotionally tough," Olympic champion Dementieva said.
"Today I missed plenty of chances. It's not easy to play at your best when emotions come in."
The tournament's second seed, Dinara Safina of Russia, beat her fifth seeded compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-5 to record her seventh win in their 11th head-to-head clash.
In the semi-finals, Safina will meet another Russian, Vera Zvonareva, the event's seventh seed who completed the last-four line-up by beating Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-4.
- AFP /ls
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