Gisela Dulko plays defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last four of the Monterrey Open tonight.
Pavyluchenkova relishes competing at the Monterrey Open and she impressed everyone last year en route to the title, digging deep in the final to see off Daniela Hantuchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 in an ultimately one-sided final.
She had a tricky path through the opening couple of rounds, battling past former world number 14 Eleni Daniilidou in three sets before seeing off American starlet Melanie Oudin. She was guilty of a concentration lapse in her quarter-final against veteran Hungarian Greta Arn, letting a 6-2, 5-1 lead nearly slip away before recovering to close it out 6-2, 7-6.
Dulko will be her toughest test so far. The flamboyant Argentine has previously mainly hit the headlines through her doubles prowess and glamour girl looks but she's upped the tempo on the singles court this year, winning the Acapulco title last week and cruising through to the semi-finals without dropping a set. She routed former Aussie Open junior champion Ksenia Pervak in the quarters.
However Pavlyuchenkova made short work of Dulko at last year's US Open, winning 6-1, 6-2. Expect three sets this time but the same winner.
