All-Russian final to be played

There will be an all-Russian final set on Sunday, after Svetlana Kuznetsova sent her opponent flying home, and Dinara Safina demolished her opponent in staright sets.

No. 5 seed Kuznetsova was the first to move into the final, after beating Katarina Srebotnik, 76(5) 62. Srebotnik had a steady 4-0 lead in the tiebreak, but Kuznetsova fought back to win.

"It was a good win; I'm happy to get revenge for the US Open," Kuznetsova said. "I was a bit lucky in the tie-break and after I won the first set I was a lot more confident out there. The conditions were pretty tough today because of the heat; it was really unbelievable, and so I took more time in between the points. Then I just changed my game a bit and tried to play smarter."

"I had my chance in the tie-break; after I lost the first set, Svetlana played better and I probably dropped my level a bit," Srebotnik said. "It was still a good match but today my legs felt a bit tired, and maybe I wasn't playing at my best..."

"Maybe it was my first serve percentage that made the difference. When I played her at the US Open I could rely on my serve when I needed it, but today this was not the case," Srebotnik added. "But I'm very happy with my performance here this week in Tokyo. I had a good week. Svetlana was the better player today."

Safina, seeded 4th, comfortably and easily won to compatriot Nadia Petrova, 61 60, in just 52 minutes.

"Nadia and I have played each other many times; this time when I went on court I knew I had to play my game and just go for the shots," Safina said. "I've also worked hard on my fitness over the last few months, so I knew I wouldn't lose today because I was not fit enough. I played well. I'm very happy how it went."

"I never really got into the match; I played well in my previous matches but I don't know what happened today," Petrova said. "But obviously Dinara was playing at a very good level from the beginning. It was nevertheless a good week. I reached another semifinal at a Tier I and this week showed me I'm on the right track with a lot of things."

"Tomorrow will be a tough match," Safina added about the final. "We know each other really well and I hope it will be a good final. It is not the first all-Russian final, so it will be a match like every other one and the better player will win the match."

"Dinara has been playing really well this season," Kuznetsova said. "I am just looking forward to a good match tomorrow."