Kuznetsova, Safarova in semis of Prague Open

Prague - Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova rallied to defeat Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and advance to the Prague Open semi-finals on Thursday

The Russian, seeking her second title of the year, will play fourth-seeded Sam Stosur of Australia, who beat fifth-seeded Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4).

Stosur wasted two match points at 5-4 in the final set, and another at 6-5, before prevailing in the tiebreaker.

Second-seeded Lucie Safarova extended her resurgence into the semi-finals by fighting past unseeded Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Coming back from a bacterial infection last year, Safarova didn't win a singles this season before claiming three in a row in Prague.

She improved her record against Hsieh to 2-0 but knew it wouldn't come easy.

"She's always a very tricky player, defending the court very well, and I'm very excited to be through to the semis," Safarova said.

She will face defending champion Karolina Pliskova, who cruised past Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-2, 6-1.