Venus to face Pennetta in Zurich final

(CNN) -- Venus Williams is just one match away from reclaiming the title she last won in 1999 after beating second seed Ana Ivanovic 4-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the final of the Zurich Open.

Williams will face unseeded Italian Flavia Pennetta, who beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3 7-6 to reach her fourth final this year.

Pennetta holds a 3-1 record against the 28-year-old American and beat her in Moscow last week.

The third-seeded Williams is looking for her second singles title of the year, after winning Wimbledon, as she tries to secure a place in the season-ending WTA Tour championship in Doha, Qatar next month.

Williams struggled with her serve in the first set, and double faulted to give Ivanovic a break to go up 4-3.

The 20-year-old Serb then saved three set-points when down 2-5 in the second, and Williams needed two more set points before clinching the tiebreaker when Ivanovic to hit a backhand long.

In the decider, Williams broke to go up 4-3 when Ivanovic netted a forehand, but the American missed three match points in her opponent's next service game -- with Ivanovic's forehand volley rolling on the net cord before dropping in on the third. Williams served out the match in the next game.

Pennetta, who upset world No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the second round, reached her fourth final of the year, despite trailing 3-1 in the first set.

She then found her forehand power and won five straight games, including three breaks of serve, to take the set.

Medina Garrigues, ranked 30th, led 3-1 again in the second but Pennetta broke to level at 3-3. The 26-year-old Spaniard could not serve out the set at 6-5 as Pennetta forced a tiebreaker.

Pennetta survived a set point and converted her first match point as Medina Garrigues hit a driving forehand volley long.

She said it did not matter that she beat Williams in Moscow last week "Here it is another tournament," Pennetta said. "Last week I lost against Jankovic and this week I won so everything can happen."

The Italian has won two tournaments this year, at Vina Del Mar, Chile, in February and Acapulco, Mexico, in March. She was also runner-up to Dinara Safina on outdoor hard courts at Los Angeles in July.