Schiavone, Govortsova in Kremlin Cup final

Francesca Schiavone of Italy and Olga Govortsova of Belarus advanced to the final of the dual ATP and WTA Kremlin Cup with straight-sets victories Saturday.

Schiavone, seeded No. 8, beat Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-0 to reach her second straight final in as many weeks, while Govortsova ousted Russia's Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 6-1 to reach her second career final.

On the men's side, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia advanced to his first final by beating Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko 6-1, 6-4.

Tipsarevich, seeded sixth, broke decisively in the seventh game of the second set.

"I tried to change the rhythm and tempo in the match," Tipsarevich said. "I got a huge boost and confidence in my game once I made the first break."

Tipsarevic will next play Mikhail Youzhny of Russia or Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin.

"I have no experience of playing in the final _ this is my first one," Tipsarevic said. "So, I will play it point by point, like any other match."

Schiavone, the only seed left in the women's tournament, is 1-10 in WTA Tour finals, winning her only title at the Gastein Ladies in 2007. The 24th-ranked Italian lost to Samantha Stosur of Australia in the final in Osaka, Japan, last Sunday.

Schiavone, runner-up here in 2005, broke Bondarenko decisively in the 10th game of the first set and dominated the second set which she won to love 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 is ranked No. 36 in the world. Bondarenko won her only title by beating the Italian in the final in Luxembourg 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.

At 5-2 and 40-15 down on her serve in the seventh game, Kleybanova saved four match points before Govortsova beat her with a forehand cross on the fifth deuce.

"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 Italian.

"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.

The seventh-ranked Vera Zvonareva of Russia, defending champion Jelena Jankovic and Agnieszka Radwanska, ranked 10th, were eliminated in the early rounds.