Gavrilova storms into Kremlin Cup semis
Daria Gavrilova. (AAP)
Australia's Daria Gavrilova has stormed into the semi-finals of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, beating seventh-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 4-6 6-3 in Moscow.
Playing in the city of her birth, the Melbourne-based world No.37 continued her excellent recent run of form to set up a semi-final against Germany's Julia Goerges.
World No.64 Goerges defeated another local favourite in Darya Kasatkina and Friday's last-four clash with Gavrilova will be the first time the pair have faced off against one another.
Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova beat ninth-seeded Hungarian Timea Babos 7-5 6-7 7-2 6-2 to remain on course to claim the final spot in the WTA Finals.
Kuznetsova will qualify for next week's eight-player finals in Singapore only if she wins the tournament. Otherwise, the place will go to Britain's Johanna Konta.
The Russian jumped to a 3-0 lead over Babos in the final set and converted on her first match point.
In the semifinals, Kuznetsova will meet Ukranian fourth-seed Elina Svitolina who eased past Croatia's Ana Konjuh 6-1 6-1.
