Fifth-seeded
Anna Smashnova advanced to the final at the Modena International on Saturday with a 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 2 seed
Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
"It was a very, very tough match. A few points made the difference," Smashnova said. "I hope to play my best possible tennis tomorrow."
In the final the Israeli will face unseeded Italian homecountry hope
Tathiana Garbin, who steamrolled Hungarian qualifier
Agnes Szavay 6-3, 6-0.
"She is very dangerous when she can take command of play," Garbin said of the 16-year-old Szavay. "I imposed my tactic from the very first game, and it paid off."
Garbin said the final will be difficult, with the players splitting their two career meetings.
"She makes few mistakes and is difficult to beat," Garbin said. "It will be up to me to vary my play and cause her problems."
In the doubles final, top seeds Gabriela Navratilova and
Michaela Pastikova take on the unseeded team of
Yulia Beygelzimer and Mervana Jugic-Salkic.
