Eighth seed Elena Dementieva defeated Francesca Schiavone 5-7 7-5 6-2 in the second semifinal of the day, and will face fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Saturday’s final of the $1.5 million Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

Despite trailing 3-5 in the first set, Schiavone – who sensationally ended Justine Henin's unbeaten run in the tournament – took the early initiative by winning four successive games to claim the set. But world No.11 Dementieva, who is making her event debut in Dubai, began to impose her authority and closed out for the match without too many difficulties.

Earlier in the day, second-seeded Kuznetsova defeated Jelena Jankovic to advance to the final, her second this season (the first one was in Sydney where she lost to Justine Henin).

The 2007 US Open runner-up Kuznetsova is 5-3 lifetime against Dementieva, including a victory in the 2004 US Open final. (via BBC, photo Getty Images)

At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova came out as a winner of a seesaw semifinal against fourth seed Jelena Jankovic. Final score 5-7 6-4 6-3.

Amazingly, there were a total of 43 break points during the match. Jankovic converted 14 out of 21, and Kuznetsova 16 out of 22. The match was long and undecided, but it seemed to me that world No.4 Jankovic let the victory slip through her fingers as she was more confident and emotionally stable and seemed more likely to win throughout the match. Actually, even though I believe a few of Jankovic’s wasted chances gave Kuznetsova the victory, towards the end of the match, Jankovic's tiredness and Kuznetsova's physical fitness and energy also had their share in deciding the winner. Read more »

Eighth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia beat third-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 5-7 6-3 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

The match was very close. Both players faced many break points. World No.2 Ivanovic was the first to be a break up in the deciding third set. However, she wasted that opportunity, as well as the fact that she could come back in the game when Dementieva was serving for the match, as she saved astonishing five match points.

In the semifinals, world No.11 Elena Dementieva plays unseeded Francesca Schiavone, who upset Justine Henin, previously unbeatable in Dubai. The other semifinal features Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic. (photo via Getty Images)

Top seed Justine Henin suffered a straight-set loss to unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships quarterfinals. Both sets were decided in tiebreaks and the final result was 7-6 (3) 7-6 (4).

This loss must be especially hard for world No.1 Henin as she has never been defeated at the Dubai tournament, and already has four Dubai titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007; she didn't play in 2005 because of an injury). World No.24 Schiavone ended the Belgian’s impressive17-match winning streak at Dubai.

Schiavone was powerful and determined and although she didn't manage to close out the match on her first match point at 5-4 in the second set, she stayed strong and finished it in the tiebreak. The 27-year-old Italian definitely earned this victory.

"To beat Justine you have to play very good, at a high level, and I did today. I think for me it is my best win," said Schiavone. "Maybe she missed some balls, but personally I think I didn't give the possibility and the chance to come up and come up like she does every time."

Schiavone was 0-7 lifetime against Henin prior to this quarterfinal. (photo via Yahoo)

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic are the first known semifinalists of this year’s Barleys Dubai Tennis Championships and they will play each other on Friday. In the quarterfinals, Kuznetsova defeated Amelie Mauresmo, while Jankovic advanced with Anna Chakvetadze retiring before even starting the second set.

Second-seeded Kuznetsova beat Mauresmo 6-1 7-6(4). Former world No.1 Mauresmo won the Dubai title in 2002 and finished runner-up last season. This defeat means that the Frenchwoman still hasn’t won three matches in a row since losing her Wimbledon title eight months ago.

Fourth-seeded Jankovic advanced to the semis when her opponent, sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze, retired with a left thigh injury. Jankovic confidently took the first set 6-1.

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic are tied at 2-2 in their career meetings. The last time they played each other was last year in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, when Jankovic won the title. (photos via Getty Images)