Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova sets up Kremlin Cup final date with Swiss star Belinda Bencic

Russian tennis ace Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has booked a spot in the Kremlin Cup final after beating Czech rival Karolina Muchova in three sets 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.

Playing in front of the home crowd, the 28-year-old Russian confidently won the opening set 6-4 before dropping the next on a tie break 6-7, reviving the intrigue of the match.

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However, the Czech opponent could offer her nothing in the third set, with Pavlyuchenkova dispatching Muchova with a crushing score of 6-1.

In the final Pavlyuchenkova will face off against Swiss star Belinda Bencic who outplayed Kristina Mladenovic of France in her respective semifinal and secured a place in the 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China.

Bencic leads head-to-head meetings against Pavlyuchenkova 3-1 with their most recent encounter taking place at this year’s Wimbledon where the Swiss athlete knocked out the Russian in the first round.

The Kremlin Cup final is scheduled to take place on Sunday.