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Baku - Top seed and world number three Vera Zvonareva will tackle Ksenia Pervak in an all-Russian final at the Baku WTA tournament on Sunday.
In Saturday's semi-finals, Zvonareva enjoyed a 6-1, 6-2 win in 66 minutes to level her head-to-head record with Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine at 1-1, while Pervak battled back from a set down to beat Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-0, 6-2.
"It's always tough to play the semis and today's match proved it once again," said Zvonareva, who will be seeking her 12th career title.
"It's very hot here and the match was much tougher than one can imagine looking at the scoreboard."
Zvonareva, 26, broke Koryttseva's serve three times for a commanding 5-0 lead before her Ukrainian opponent got on the scoreboard, also with a break.
After winning the first set in 25 minutes, Zvonareva and Koryttseva traded breaks for 2-2 in the second set.
But Zvonareva then reeled off four games in succession to take the tie on her third match point.
Voskoboeva, 26, sprinted into a 3-0 lead against Pervak in the first set of their semi-final and broke again in the sixth game for a one-set lead in 32 minutes.
But the 20-year-old Pervak refused to surrender and broke three times in the second set to take it at love to level the tie at 1-1 after one hour on court.
Pervak broke twice in the decider to record her first win over Voskoboeva in one hour 44 minutes in their third head-to-head meeting.
"I'm really happy as I reached my first career final here," Pervak said. "And I beat Voskoboeva for the first time.
"Tomorrow it will be really tough as Vera (Zvonareva) is a strong and experienced player. But I have nothing to lose and will try to perform my best tennis on Sunday."
In Saturday's semi-finals, Zvonareva enjoyed a 6-1, 6-2 win in 66 minutes to level her head-to-head record with Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine at 1-1, while Pervak battled back from a set down to beat Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-0, 6-2.
"It's always tough to play the semis and today's match proved it once again," said Zvonareva, who will be seeking her 12th career title.
"It's very hot here and the match was much tougher than one can imagine looking at the scoreboard."
Zvonareva, 26, broke Koryttseva's serve three times for a commanding 5-0 lead before her Ukrainian opponent got on the scoreboard, also with a break.
After winning the first set in 25 minutes, Zvonareva and Koryttseva traded breaks for 2-2 in the second set.
But Zvonareva then reeled off four games in succession to take the tie on her third match point.
Voskoboeva, 26, sprinted into a 3-0 lead against Pervak in the first set of their semi-final and broke again in the sixth game for a one-set lead in 32 minutes.
But the 20-year-old Pervak refused to surrender and broke three times in the second set to take it at love to level the tie at 1-1 after one hour on court.
Pervak broke twice in the decider to record her first win over Voskoboeva in one hour 44 minutes in their third head-to-head meeting.
"I'm really happy as I reached my first career final here," Pervak said. "And I beat Voskoboeva for the first time.
"Tomorrow it will be really tough as Vera (Zvonareva) is a strong and experienced player. But I have nothing to lose and will try to perform my best tennis on Sunday."
