Fourth seed Ana Ivanovic defeated qualifier Vesna Dolonc, ranked 160 in the world, to book an encounter with top-seeded Sam Stosur in the Kremlin Cup semifinals on Friday.
The all-Serbian quarterfinal lasted for just over an hour before the world No. 1 completed a straight-forward 6-4, 6-1 win, despite being broken twice in the first set.
"It's never easy playing someone from your own country, especially someone you don't know," said Ivanovic. "I really knew very little about her. She's a very good player. She played some great tennis at times today and I really hope she can develop and get to the top of the game."
In the semifinal, Ivanovic will meet her first seeded player in Stosur, as in the second round she eased past another qualifier Valeria Solovieva, ranked 216 in the world.
Stosur earlier Friday strolled past Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3.
If the 24 year old beats the Australian star, she will reach her first final of the year.
