By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Moscow, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Former U.S. Open champions Samantha Stosur and Svetlana Kuznetsova were among the quarterfinal winners Friday and will meet in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup.
Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open winner, toppled former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-4, in the first match of the day on the indoor hardcourt. Kuznetsova, Open champ in 2004 and the runner-up in '07, eased past second-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci, 6-2, 6-3.
The eighth-seeded Kuznetsova has never won a tournament in her native Russia and will play in the Moscow semifinals for the second time. She fell to Serena Williams in the 2007 round of four. The 28-year-old veteran hasn't won a tournament since the last of her 13 career titles three years ago in San Diego.
Stosur, meanwhile, is coming off her fifth career title last week in Osaka and was the runner-up at this event last year. Seeded seventh this week, Stosur hasn't dropped a set in her first three matches and has won eight straight since a first-round setback to Lucie Safarova at the China Open.
Kuznetsova and Stosur have split six career matches, but the Aussie has won both meetings this year. She prevailed in straight sets in Doha back in February and again won in two sets at the U.S. Open tune-up in Cincinnati.
The other semifinal will feature Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep. Pavlyuchenkova thumped Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, 6-0, 6-4, in 70 minutes, while Halep went an additional two minutes in a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Russian wild card Alisa Kleybanova.
Sunday's winner will receive a first prize of $132,470.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/stosur-kuznetsova-advance-to-kremlin-cup-semis