ROME — Top-ranked Dinara Safina rallied to beat Venus Williams 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4 and set up an all-Russian final with Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Italian Open on Friday.

No. 8-ranked Kuznetsova beat No. 9 Victoria Azarenka, a three-time title winner this year, 6-2, 6-4 in the other semifinal at Foro Italico.

The Russians’ clash today will be a repeat of last weekend’s Porsche Grand Prix final at Stuttgart, Germany, where Kuznetsova upset Safina in straight sets to capture her first WTA title in almost two years. Kuznetsova has won nine successive matches on clay.

Both players have been runners-up in Rome, Safina three years ago and Kuznetsova in 2007.

Safina beat Williams for the first time after two losses, in a slugfest which enthralled the crowd for 3 hours, 10 minutes.

“She pushed me to play my best,” Safina said of the 1999 Rome champion. “Sometimes you need this kind of match … It gives me a lot of confidence to beat such a big player like her, such a champion.”

In other events on Friday:

BMW semifinals set

MUNICH — Tomas Berdych rallied past Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach the semifinals of the BMW Open. Berdych will play Jeremy Chardy, who upset second-seeded Marin Cilic 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his third semifinal of the year. Mikhail Youzhny upset seventh-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and will play wild-card Daniel Brands in the other semifinal.

Djokovic leads players into Belgrade semis

BELGRADE, Serbia — Tournament host and top seed Novak Djokovic extended his dominance of the inaugural Serbia Open by beating fellow countryman Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semifinals. Today, Djokovic will play fourth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy, who reached his first semis of the season by beating Marcos Daniel of Brazil 6-4, 7-5.

Top seed upset in Portugal

OEIRAS, Portugal — Albert Montanes rallied to upset top-seeded Gilles Simon 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open. The seventh-seeded Spaniard will meet Paul Capdeville, who defeated Oscar Hernandez 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko stopped Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-3 and will play James Blake, who topped Florent Serra 6-4, 6-1.