Vera Zvonareva rallied from 5-3 down in the deciding set to defeat Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-5 Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Ladies Open.
Zvonareva reached a semifinal against familiar foe Jelena Jankovic, who defeated Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4. Zvonareva leads Jankovic 7-6 in their 13 previous matchups, and has won the last four.
Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki won 12 straight games to beat Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-2, 6-0 and set up a semifinal with Marion Bartoli of France.
Hantuchova defeated Zvonareva in the Pattaya Open semifinals this month and looked set for an encore, but the Russian rallied to break back in the 10th and 12th games to end the 3-hour, 10-minute match.
Zvonareva hit 48 winners to 29 for Hantuchova, who committed 57 unforced errors.
''It was a tough match. Daniela is a great player and very aggressive,'' Zvonareva said. ''I'm happy to come through and be in the semifinal.''
Wozniacki, who won the Dubai title last week, extended her winning streak to eight matches after losing the first two games of the match.
She wore a Liverpool soccer shirt with Steven Gerrard's name on the back during the warmup.
''I'm a big fan of Liverpool,'' Wozniacki said. ''Since Liverpool is playing tonight (against Sparta Prague), I thought it would be nice and even the fans liked it.''
Wozniacki made just seven unforced errors against Pennetta, who appeared to lose heart after dropping serve in a 12-minute fourth game. Wozniacki finally won it with one of her trademark backhand returns to draw level at 2-2.
''I was playing really good tennis,'' Wozniacki said. ''I stayed calm and had to go for my shots.''
Pennetta fell to 0-4 against Wozniacki, committing 21 unforced errors in the second set.
Bartoli defeated Peng Shuai 6-2, 6-2 in 71 minutes. Peng lost her serve in the first game and never recovered.
''I thought I played well,'' Bartoli said. ''I could have finished earlier. I mean, it could have been 6-1 in the second instead of 6-2, even 6-0. But overall, it was a great performance.''
Jankovic spoiled Zakopalova's 29th birthday to reach her second semifinal in two weeks, and hopes to end Zvonareva's streak against her.
''I feel really good about my game lately,'' Jankovic said. ''I've had some pretty good wins. I've played some really good tennis, so I look forward to playing in the semifinals.''
