Patty Schnyder defeated third seed Marion Bartoli of France 7-6, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final of the Linz Open.

Her opponent in the final will be second-seeded Slovak Daniela Hantuchova who knocked out fifth-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in the other semifinal.

Nieminen in final
Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen overcame Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-6, 6-2 on Saturday to book a place in the Swiss Indoors final, adds Reuters from Basel.

Nieminen, who last year became the first Finn to win an ATP Tour title, will now face world number one Roger Federer who outclassed towering Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5).

Earlier, Federer beat Nicolas Kiefer for the ninth time in succession on Friday, his 6-3, 6-2 victory earning him a semifinal spot. Karlovic outlasted Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (15-13) in another quarterfinals.

Murray through
British second seed Andy Murray  beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 in the semifinals of the St Petersburg Open on Saturday. Murray will face Fernando Verdasco in Sunday's final after the Spanish sixth seed overwhelmed Croatian qualifier Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-3.