Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei rekindled the form that saw them win three Premier-level doubles titles together in 2009, beating the No.1 team in the world to win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci stayed on course to defend their Rome doubles title with a 62 61 semifinal win over Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova on Saturday evening.
Victoria Azarenka rallied from a second set blowout and a break down in the third to beat Samantha Stosur on Friday night and complete the semifinal line-up at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
Simona Halep takes on Serena Williams and her 22-match winning streak, looking to become the first Romanian to reach the Rome final since Virginia Ruzici in 1981.
Sara Errani reached the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia on Thursday and on the new rankings will become the second Italian player ever to reach the Top 5 - who was the first?
Maria Sharapova and Li Na, who played an absolute nail-biter in the final last year, cruised through their opening matches at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Italian No.1 Sara Errani toughed it out.
Serena Williams defeated Sara Errani to become the first player to 30 match wins on the year. She will now try to become the 10th player ever to win 50 WTA titles - who are the first nine?
