Jovanovski taken the distance again, Knapp progresses

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Top seed Jovanovski needed three sets to defeat Kateryna Bondarenko and 2010 champion Alla Kudryavtseva in her previous matches this week.

Radwanska is ranked 170 spots below Jovanovski but it was her turn to cause the Serb problems in Thursday's quarter-final tie.

However, Jovanovski eventually came from behind to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 at the WTA international hard-court event in Uzbekistan.

Jovanovski, who is aiming to become the first woman to successfully defend the title, lost out in a tight opener in which Radwanska made the crucial breakthrough to take a 2-1 lead before holding for a 3-1 advantage.

Both players struggled to hold serve in a scrappy second set, in which Radwanska lost four straight service games to surrender her advantage.

Neither player could solve their serving woes in the decider, but Jovanovski did improve slightly to win 61 per cent of first-serve points and ultimately progress to the final four.

Jovanovski now faces Nigina Abduraimova in the semi-finals after she defeated fellow wildcard and Uzbek compatriot Akgul Amanmuradova 6-3 6-3.

On the other side of the draw, Italian Karin Knapp continued her quest for a maiden WTA title by beating Olga Govortsova 7-5 6-2.

The third seed dropped serve on two occasions, but lost just five first-serve points throughout.

Standing between Knapp and the final is qualifier Lesia Tsurenko who continued her fine form at the tournament by shocking 2011 victor Ksenia Pervak 4-6 6-4 7-5.

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