Svetlana and Jelena create final berth

Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova were ruling the courts on Saturday's semifinal, as the Serb advanced in three sets, and the Russian had a tough two set win.

Jankovic, top seeded in Beijing, was battling until the end against Vera Zvonareva, and prevailed in a thrilling three-setter, 64 26 64. Despite the Russian winning their three previous encounters out of six, that didn't stop Jelena from playing her best game.

"In the first set I was dominating; in the second set I let my opponent back in," Jankovic said. "I was able to regroup in the third and got back to my tactics. It was a very long, difficult match. I'm tired but happy to be in the final."

No. 4 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova had a tough time dealing with home crowd favorite Jie Zheng, but still got her strength together to win, 76(3) 75. The Russian wn the first set tiebreaker in 59 minutes, and had to come back from 3-1 down in the second set to win the match.

"It was very tough out there. My game wasn't going that well and the crowd was obviously cheering for her, but I kept my focus and didn't get down," Kuznetsova said. "She was pumped up in front of her home crowd. She has improved a lot. Her groundstrokes are better and she's moving better."

"My power and serve were not as good as my opponent's," Zheng said. "I didn't take my opportunities, especially in the second set. But I've really gained a lot of confidence this week, because I know I can play against the stronger players. In the past, I had a hard time with them."

Kuznetsova and Jankovic have met six times before, with the Russian leading the head-to-head results 4-2. The two have played together twice this year with Svetlana winning both matches.