Belinda bencic into final of the St Petersburg open 2016

Bencic, who overcame the rising Russian daria kasatkina in the second semifinal. This will be the pair's first meeting.

"Probably I'm gonna watch some games, but of course will be a tough match," Vinci said of her potential opponents in the final. "They both play such a good game. They are so young but good ranking for both. So, will be tough but I'm in the final."

Two of the youngest players in the Top 70, 18-year-olds Bencic and Kasatkina were facing off for the first time at the WTA level.

"Dasha is a very good friend," Bencic said after the match. "I'm happy that we still can be friends off the court even though on the court we fight against each other. I think that's the way it should be."

A bit of lingering sluggishness was evident at the start of the match as both players traded early breaks and holds, keeping the match level at 4-4 before Bencic broke to take the set at 6-4.

Kasatkina created many break opportunities in the match but was only about to capitalize on one out of the 10, and Bencic was able to close out comfortably in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.