Top seeds through to China finals

Top seeds Andy Roddick and Jelena Jankovic came through deciding sets to book places in their respective finals of the China Open.

Roddick edged a 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 win over world number 137 Bjorn Phau, who came into the tournament without a win on the ATP Tour this season.

Women's world number one Jankovic saw off Vera Zvonareva to win 6-4 2-6 6-4.

Roddick plays Dudi Sela in the final, Jankovic facing Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat Zheng Jie 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

Israeli Sela, who has already beaten world number five David Ferrer and sixth seed Tommy Robredo, reached his first ATP final with a 6-3 6-3 win over seventh seed and Wimbledon semi-finalist Rainer Schuettler.

He broke the error-prone Schuettler three times in the opening set and the 23-year-old kept up his intensity in the second set, forcing what proved to be a decisive break in the sixth game.

Roddick hurled his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his second set tie-break but broke Phau's serve three times in the decider to secure his place in the final.

Jankovic, who lost in the final of the 2007 China Open, took the first set against Zvonareva but some powerful hitting from the Russian saw her level the match.

The players swapped breaks at the beginning of the deciding set but Serbian Jankovic forced a further break and sealed the match, which lasted two hours and 22 minutes.

"The first set I played quite well and I was dominating but then in the second set I lost my energy and let my opponent come on top of me," said Jankovic. "She was the one dictating the points.

"It was not easy. Mentally and physically it was quite hard but at the end I managed to stay calm and finish the match in my favour."

Jankovic will face Kuznetsova in the final, the Russian fourth seed edging past home favourite Zheng in a tight second semi-final.