Kuznetsova, Jankovic Meet for Rome Title

Kuznetsova, ranked a career-high No.3 and the No.2 seed, dismissed No.9 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 64 62. Aside from one break for the Russian the two players held tightly to their service games throughout the opening set, but in the second set the Slovak began showing signs of tiring; not surprising considering her win against Anabel Medina Garrigues Friday night, a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.

"It was tough to get on the court and be as sharp as I wanted to be," Hantuchova said. "I didn't really get much sleep. But I think the way Kuzy was playing today it would have been tough to do something about it. The conditions were quite tough with the wind, but I still gave it my best and it just didn't work today."

Although Kuznetsova went into the semifinal battle with a slight head-to-head edge of 5-3, there was a world of difference between the two women in terms of history on clay. It was Hantuchova's first ever clay court semifinal in 34 attempts, while Kuznetsova has enjoyed some impressive runs on the surface, including reaching the Roland Garros final last year and winning at Helsinki in 2002.

"I always try to expect a tough match because if the match ends up being easy it's always better," Kuznetsova stated. "Daniela is playing much better than she was in the past year; I lost to her in Indian Wells. But I know I'm better on clay courts definitely. And now I just come to every match pretty relaxed because I know if I play good game it's all in my hands. So I just try to do my best."

Hantuchova, whose wins this week also included an upset of No.7 seed Anna Chakvetadze, was proud to go this far at an event on the dirt for the first time.

"This week showed me I can play on clay as well," the Slovak said. "I had some very good matches here and beat some tough players on clay. Especially last night, I was very proud the way I fought even though I wasn't playing my best. I think that's something I've been doing much better, that sometimes even if I don't feel great, and don't play the way I want, I still find a way to get through.

"Rome is my most favorite city in the world, so to make it to a clay court semi the first time here is great. I had fantastic week. I enjoyed it very, very much."

On how the Rome final against Jankovic might differ from last week's Berlin final against Ivanovic, Kuznetsova was optimistic.

"They're pretty different; Jelena plays at a different pace than Ana. Playing with Ana, I was more tired as it was my third match in two days. Now I feel pretty good, and I'm just looking forward to it. It's going to be an interesting match."

Jankovic, the No.3 seed, routed No.14 seed Patty Schnyder in Saturday's first semi, 61 63. The Swiss was experiencing some breathing problems during the match, which seemed to hold back her normally backboard-like rallying skills.

"I just had the feeling I couldn't rally every single point the way I was supposed to,"Schnyder said. "It's my game to wear down opponents so it's a disadvantage. But she's always a great player. I mean, I am not going to say that without it I would have beaten her. It wasn't close. But of course it would have been closer."

"I expected a tough match, because Patty played well yesterday against Serena," Jankovic added. "And she also has a really difficult game, because she's a lefty and has tough spin. Her ball bounces really high. But I tried to play more to her backhand so she couldn't spin it a lot with her forehand, and I did it.

"I'm just really happy that I'm in a final again. Hopefully I can win another title. But I just want to enjoy it and I am looking forward to playing again tomorrow."

Kuznetsova is 2-1 against Jankovic; the Serb won their first match in the fourth round of the US Open last summer, but the Russian retaliated with indoor wins at Stuttgart and Zürich in the fall, both in two sets. The two haven't played on clay.

Before the singles final on Sunday will be the doubles final, pitting No.7 seeds Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo against unseeded pairing Tathiana Garbin and Roberta Vinci. The French-Italian pairing of Dechy and Santangelo ousted No.3 seeds Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs, 64 64, while the all-Italian combo of Garbin and Vinci beat No.2 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 63 63. (WTA)