LINZ, Austria - After her 76(6) 62 quarterfinal defeat of Julia Goerges on Friday, Ana Ivanovic is now two wins away from her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title since 2008, which also happened to be at the Generali Ladies Linz.

"She is a very tough opponent," Ivanovic said of Goerges, who almost came back from a 5-2 first set deficit. "It was a close match and the first set was decided by a few points here and there. I was serving at 5-3 but I didn't take advantage of the opportunity, however, she had a set point at 6-5 in the tie-break and I had a big serve. Then I had another big serve to give me set point, so I was really pleased with that, and that gave me good momentum for the second set."

The seventh-seeded Ivanovic still has a ways to go before she can start thinking about the title, especially considering she is 0-3 in her other semifinal matches (in Brisbane, Rome and Cincinnati) this year. However, she must like her chances, considering she is now 12-2 in her career in Linz. Next up for the Serb is Roberta Vinci, who came back from 3-1 down in the third set of her 57 63 64 win over fellow Italian Sara Errani. Errani and Vinci are actually partners this week in doubles, where they are into Saturday's semifinals.

The Ivanovic-Vinci clash is a match-up of two players on hot streaks, as Ivanovic rose to her highest ranking since March - No. 29 - on this week's rankings, and Vinci to her highest ranking - No. 46 - since August 2009. Ivanovic is 3-0 in the series between the two.

The two players who will square off in the semifinal on the bottom half of the draw recorded more routine victories Friday, as Patty Schnyder knocked off No.2 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 64 64, and No.6 seed Andrea Petkovic put an end to the run of qualifier Eleni Daniilidou, 63 62.

"It's amazing we have met so many times in our careers. I have so much respect for her," said Schnyder, who is now 9-10 against Hantuchova, including a loss in the 2007 Linz final. "We had some great rallies, especially in the first set. The second set was a little dramatic. I had so many chances to win it a little bit easier, but she's a great competitor. I'm happy to be in the semis."