Porsche Grand Prix, Filderstadt
Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters remain on course to meet in in Sunday's final after booking their semi-final places.
If both reach that stage, the match would be a straight shoot-out for the world number one ranking.
Henin-Hardenne secured a 7-5 6-0 win over Elena Dementieva, while Clijsters saw off Amelie Mauresmo 6-4 6-3.
"It was tough at the beginning because I was a little bit nervous," said Henin-Hardenne.
"All the (three) matches we played this year were three sets. But finally I found my rhythm and from 3-1 in the first set I played good tennis."
Dementieva, the world number eight, had won 12 of her last matches and two titles in the last month but her serve let her down against the French and US Open champion.
Henin-Hardenne, the number two seed, will face another Russian in the last four after Elena Bovina upset third seed Lindsay Davenport 6-3 6-2.
Top seed Clijsters will take on France's Mary Pierce, who defeated Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva 7-5 7-6 (6).
Tashkent Open
Second seed Emmanuelle Gagliardi reached the semi-finals with a 6-2 6-2 win over Adriana Serra-Zanetti.
She was joined in the last four by third seed Saori Obata of Japan, who came through a tricky encouter with Croatia's Jelena Kostanic 5-7 6-0 6-4.
There were also wins for Spanish duo Arantxa Parra and Virginia Ruano Pascual.
Parra defeated Russia's Lioudmila Skavronskaia 6-3 6-4 while Pascual, the fourth seed, beat American sixth seed Jill Craybas 6-2 6-1.
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MMIX
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