LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Julia Goerges came into Friday's BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open quarterfinal showdown against Ana Ivanovic with an 0-2 record against the sizzling Serb, including a straight set loss in the quarterfinals of Linz last week in which she had a set point in the first set.

However, the eighth-seeded Goerges turned the tables this time, handling the fourth-seeded Ivanovic, 63 61, in an hour.

"Last week it was a pretty good match," Goerges said. "But for me it was better this week. I had a few days of rest and she was pretty tired from playing so many matches. I tried to make it tough on her and didn't make any stupid mistakes. She made too many mistakes, but she's still a great player and it's a good win for me."

Goerges is having her best year on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, highlighted by a title in Bad Gastein, a semifinal showing in Palermo and at the very least, a semifinal showing here. As for Ivanovic, despite the disappointing defeat, she can take solace in the fact that she has played her best tennis in two years in recent weeks, having won 10 of her last 12 matches, including the title in Linz.

"She played really well. I really felt under pressure the whole match and she was hardly making any errors," said Ivanovic, who will conclude her year at the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali in two weeks. "She didn't let up for one minute. I expected a tough match but she came out playing exceptionally well today and she served big."

In the semifinals, Goerges will take on fellow German Angelique Kerber, who beat Polona Hercog, 64 62, her third win in four career matches against the Slovenian. Kerber won her only other career semifinal match earlier this year in Bogotá before falling in the final to Mariana Duque Marino.

In Friday's tightest quarterfinal match, Anne Keothavong outlasted Iveta Benesova, 67(3) 62 64, despite blowing three set points in the first set.

"I've had a lot of tough three set matches the last couple of months and unfortunately I've been on the wrong side of it, so to win today in three sets is a good feeling," said Keothavong, who with the victory matched her best result on Tour, having reached the semis in five other events, though she lost each of them. "It's been a tough year for me and if I can finish the season on a high, that'd be even better. I haven't made the final of a WTA tournament before, so it's even more motivation for me tomorrow."

Next up for Keothavong is Roberta Vinci, who defeated Kirsten Flipkens, 76(5) 61, and is now into a semifinal for the second straight week, having lost to Ivanovic in the final four in Linz.