Tipsarevic advanced to his first final by beating Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko 6-1, 6-4, while Youzhny beat Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-1.

Schiavone defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-0 to make her second straight final, while Govortsova ousted Alisa Kleybanova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 to reach her second career final.

Tipsarevich broke decisively in the seventh game of the second set.

“I tried to change the rhythm and tempo in the match,” the Serb said. “I got a huge boost and confidence in my game once I made the first break. … I have no experience of playing in the final – this is my first one. So, I will play it point by point, like any other match.”

Youzhny, the 2004 runner-up from Russia, dominated after an exchange of breaks early in the first set.

Schiavone is 1-10 in WTA Tour finals, winning at the Gastein Ladies in 2007. The 24th-ranked Italian lost to Samantha Stosur last week in the final at Osaka, Japan.

Schiavone, the 2005 runner-up, broke Bondarenko decisively in the 10th game of the first set and dominated the second set to reach her third final this season.

“I was more aggressive today,” Schiavone said. “At 5-2 she played too good, very good but then I was pushing and took my chance. I think I played better today.”

Schiavone is now 4-2 against Bondarenko, who won her only title by beating the Italian in the Luxembourg final in 2006.

After an exchange of breaks, unheralded Govortsova broke Kleybanova two more times in the first set. The 67th-ranked Belarusian was 4-1 up in the second when Kleybanova called for a doctor to have her right shoulder and back massaged.

“It was tough struggle in every game, though the score looks so impressive,” Govortsova said. “I’m happy with my play here.”

Govortsova, who is 1-1 against Schiavone, said she would have to play aggressively to beat the her.

“Schiavone always plays good here because she plays passively with many slices and drop shots,” Govortsova said.

The 20th edition of the Kremlin Cup has a weakened women’s draw because seven of the world’s top players had qualified for the Doha Championships before the Moscow tournament and opted to skip it.

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Kremer was a late replacement for teenager Melanie Oudin, who withdrew hours before her first match because of illness.

Clijsters is a five-time champion of the tournament.

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Davydenko extended his record to 6-1 over Verdasco and gave him a third title this year. He also won the German Open in Hamburg and Croatia Open in Umag.

In Bangkok, Gilles Simon of France won the Thailand Open, defeating Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-3 for his first ATP title of the year and sixth overall.

Troicki, seeded fourth, and Simon traded breaks late in the first set before the Frenchman broke when leading 6-5. Simon broke an error-prone Troicki to make it 4-2 in the second set.

Simon won on his second match point when the Serbian hit a forehand return wide.

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