Bencic after reaching the final in Moscow: "I'm very happy with how I fought"

Third-seeded Bencic reached the final after a comfortable victory over Mladenovic 6-3 and 6-4. The main goal for the Swiss at the tournament was to reach the final in order to qualify for the WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

"I'm so happy I reached the top eight. It was a huge goal for me this season and so last-minute," Bencic said on-court after the match.

"I was so nervous before the match, but also reaching the final here [in Moscow] tomorrow is amazing. I'm so happy.

"It was such a good level from us. We know each other well so that's why it was very tactical. I just tried to really focus on myself and keep my emotions under control.

"I'm very happy with how I fought all this tournament already."

"I think tomorrow, I’ll just be so happy to be in the final and will enjoy it already knowing I’ll be in Shenzhen. This gives me a great feeling and hopefully I can take that into tomorrow and play even better.

"It means the world to me. Obviously, it was a big goal this season, particularly after I started it so strongly, and having put myself in a position to reach the WTA Finals I’m so happy now to have reached it."

Home crowd favorite reached the final after victory over Muchova 6-4, 6-7 and 6-1. Pavlyuchenkova won the title in Moscow in 2014 and lost to Kuznetsova in the final next year. Now after 4 years she is in the final again to fight for the second trophy at the Kremlin Cup.

"It's amazing to be back in the final for the third time," Pavlyuchenkova said after the match. "Every year I play here, I look forward to play and to have a trophy every time I play. I'm one step closer now, and that's very special.

"I'm very pleased to be in the final and I have one more tomorrow."

"I think she's going to have a good match tomorrow, with no pressure," Pavlyuchenkova assessed of the Swiss, after the latter's qualification for the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen.

"It's a final, so we both want to win the trophy, so it's going to be interesting. I'm going to have to play my best, show a good game, and hopefully I can show some good tennis and be 100 percent tomorrow."