The Russians Margarita Gasparyan and Daria Kasatkina will fight in the final of the Saint Petersburg Tournament, for the first time in their careers.
Gasparyan, 26, defeated his compatriot and once second racket in the world Vera Zvonareva 6-3 and 7-6 (9) in the semifinal of the tournament in a match that lasted nearly two hours.
While Kasatkina, eighth seeded and 61st in the world, did the same with another local player, Svetlana Kuznetsova, whom she beat in three sets by 1-6, 6-0 and 6-2 in one hour and 38 minutes.
“Vera showed a fantastic game in the second set, so I am very happy to have won in two sets,” Gasparyan said after the meeting with Zvonareva.
For both tennis players this will be the first time they have played a final of the Saint Petersburg Tournament, which celebrates its sixth edition in the Sibur Arena pavilion and distributes 565,530 dollars in prizes, of which 90,000 for the winner.