Daria Kasatkina and wildcard Margarita Gasparyan sank the top two seeds at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy, where the semi-finals will be all-Russian showdowns.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, the number one seed, fell 6-2 7-5 to Gasparyan, before former top-10 star Kasatkina continued her recent revival by landing a 1-6 6-1 6-2 victory against Veronika Kudermetova.
Friday marked the first time at a WTA tournament that as many as seven of the final eight players have been Russian, and the day's opening clash produced a significant upset.
It was a valid reminder of what might have been for world number 126 Gasparyan, who like Alexandrova is 26 years old but has struggled massively with injuries over the years.
Gasparyan was particularly helped by her superior form on first serve in the opening set, putting 72.7 per cent in court to 44 per cent by her opponent and winning 75 per cent of points when landing that delivery.
A topsy-turvy second set saw a total of seven breaks between the two players, but Gasparyan's 4-3 advantage in that respect helped her clinch a first WTA 500 semi-final appearance.
Up next for her is 36-year-old Vera Zvonareva, the former world number two who beat Anastasia Gasanova 6-3 6-1, saving six of seven break points en route to victory.
Romania's Jaqueline Cristian was the final non-Russian player left in the draw and she certainly tested Svetlana Kuznetsova, but ultimately the 35-year-old fourth seed prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3.
Next for former US Open and French Open winner Kuznetsova will be Kasatkina, who rounded off the day by shaking off a slow start to look highly impressive against second seed Kudermetova.
The 23-year-old Kasatkina has endured a couple of lean years since entering the top 10 in October 2018 but landed a title last month at the Phillip Island Trophy.
Asked about how she came back from being trounced in the opening set by Kudermetova, Kasatkina said on Amazon Prime: "I think it's just women's tennis and this is what tennis is all about.
"It took me some time to get into this match but at the end I won it."
As for how Saturday's clash with Kuznetsova might play out, Kasatkina said: "We trained many times together but never played in an official match so it's hard to say."
Venezuela 1-1 Argentina: Rondon equaliser thwarts world champions on Messi return
Argentina dropped points in a second successive CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier, as Venezuela held them to a 1-1 draw in Maturin.
The spoils were shared at Estadio Monumental de Maturin, where Salomon Rondon's second-half header cancelled out Nicolas Otamendi's earlier effort.
After heavy rain delayed kick-off, Argentina took the lead in the 13th minute.
Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo failed to properly clear the returning Lionel Messi's free-kick, and Otamendi reacted quickest to poke home from 12 yards out.
The hosts went close to levelling either side of the break. German Pezzella cleared off the line from Rondon, while Geronimo Rulli - deputising for the suspended Emiliano Martinez - kept out Yangel Herrera's powerful header.
However, Venezuela did grab their equaliser in the 65th minute - and subsequently a point - when Rondon rose at the near post to power home from Yeferson Soteldo's cross.
Messi returned to the international scene for the first time since limping off in tears during the Copa America final.
But the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner could not help Argentina get back to winning ways, while he conceded possession the joint-most times (19) by any visiting player.
The conditions certainly affected the flow of the game, and was more to the suiting of Venezuela. Although they had just 40.1% of possession, the hosts outshot their opponents 16-8.
However, they have now failed to win their last five CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers; their longest streak since going six without victory between June and October 2021.
Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace
Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.
The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.
Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.
Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.
The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.
Italy 2-2 Belgium: Trossard completes comeback to deny 10-man hosts
Italy dropped their first points of this Nations League campaign, as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Belgium in Rome.
The 10-man Azzurri, who had Lorenzo Pellegrini sent off, were pegged back from 2-0 up at Stadio Olimpico, where Maxim De Cuyper and Leandro Trossard cancelled out earlier efforts from Andrea Cambiaso and Mateo Retegui.
Just 59 seconds had elapsed when Italy broke the deadlock as Federico Dimarco played a one-two with Pellegrini, before his low cross was turned in at the far post by Cambiaso.
It was 2-0 in the 24th minute when Koen Casteeles parried Cambiaso's low drive straight to Retegui, who tapped into an open goal.
However, the Azzurri's momentum was halted after 40 minutes when Pellegrini was shown a straight red card following a VAR review after his late challenge on Arthur Theate.
Belgium quickly took advantage to halve the deficit with a neatly worked free-kick as Youri Tielemans and Trossard combined to tee up De Cuyper, who curled past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
And the comeback was completed just after the hour mark when Wout Faes nodded a deep corner into the six-yard box, where Trossard nipped in ahead of Donnarumma to ensure a share of the spoils.
Data Debrief: Italy's quick start counts for nothing
After back-to-back victories over France and Israel, Italy were quick out of the blocks in their quest to make it three wins from three.
Cambiaso's strike saw the Azzurri score in the opening minute of a match for the first time since June 2013, when Emanuele Giaccherini struck early against Haiti.
However, the pendulum certainly swung away from them following the dismissal of Pellegrini, who became the first Italy player to receive a direct red card since Domenico Criscito against Netherlands in June 2018.
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