Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta came a step closer to winning her first indoor title by beating Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Generali Ladies on Friday.
The 11th-seeded Italian will next face third-seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. Second-seeded Agnieskza Radwanska of Poland and unseeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic also reached the semifinals.
Pennetta, who has won eight WTA Tour titles, had 27 errors from the baseline. She was broken when serving for the opening set at 5-4, but broke right back.
Pennetta will next play Wickmayer, who defeated eighth-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 7-5, 6-3.
The 24th-ranked Wickmayer, who also beat Errani in straight sets en route to the semifinals at the U.S. Open, missed two match points and was broken at 5-1, but closed out the match in her next service game.
Radwanska beat seventh-seeded Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 (9), and Kvitova defeated fourth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-4, 7-5.
Radwanska had two breaks to win the opening set. She saved two set points in the second-set tiebreaker before converting her fourth match point when Safarova hit a forehand long.
Kvitova played an attacking style that included 23 net approaches.
The opening set went with serve until 5-4 as both players wasted eight breakpoints each before Kvitova finally converted one. Kvitova had two more breaks in the second set to wrap up the victory.
She won her first WTA Tour title in Hobart, Australia, in January.
