Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia advances to the quarterfinal stage of the ongoing 2016 WTA Tianjin Open after winning over Naomi Osaka of Japan with hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to earn a slot in the tournament's semifinal round on Friday.

The 31-year-old second-seeded Russian, who is a two-time grand slam winner, dropped the opening set of the match, but rallied, and was able to recover in the last two games to prevail over the Japanese teenager. Kuznetsova, who is still trying to qualify for the upcoming WTA Finals in Singapore later this month, wrapped the match in one hour and 55 minutes.

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With the victory, the current eighth-ranked Russian tennis star booked a semifinal showdown against Alison Riske of the United States. The 26-year-old Riske, who presently ranks No. 56 in the world, defeated home crowd favorite Han Hinyun of China in two straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

The American tennis ace has won the tournament's title two years ago and on a quest for a repeat. Riske defeated Swiss Belinda Bencic in straight sets to claim her maiden WTA crown.

However, Kuznetsova enjoys the upper hand, as she currently leads their head-to-head matchup over Riske. The Russian has won all the last four matches she played since 2011, basing from the head-to-head comparison in the WTA's official website.

Meanwhile, China's Peng Shuai will be playing against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the other semifinal match of the event.

Kovinic eliminated the reigning Olympic Games champion Monica Puig of Puerto Rico with a 6-4, 6-3 victory, and Peng entered the final four after the top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew from the tournament on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Radwanska pulled out of the tennis competition after suffering from a right thigh injury.  The tourney's defending champion won the last eight matches since her successful campaign in the recently concluded China Open, where she won the title last week.

TagsSvetlana Kuznetsova, Alison Riske, Tianjin Open, Agnieszka Radwanska, Peng Shuai, wta finals