Unseeded Italian Romina Oprandi continued her dream run at the home tournament with an upset win over Madrid champion Aravane Rezai to enter the semifinals of the XXIII Internazionali Femminili Di Tennis Di Palermo, a WTA event being played in the picturesque Palermo in Italy.

Oprandi came through a tight first set to bagel an in-form Frenchwoman in the second and complete the 7-5, 6-0 victory.  This is Oprandi's first ever Sony Ericsson WTA tour semifinal.

"I'm very happy because this is my first semifinal," Oprandi said. "Today's match wasn't easy. This is my best win since I beat Zvonareva four years ago. I hope to continue this way. I feel very good about my tennis right now."

She now meets Estonian and Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi, who crushed another Italian in the draw, Sara Errani with a 6-2, 6-2 scoreline.

"I've made a lot of progress on clay and today I played some very good tennis," Kanepi said. "Sara wasn't easy to play against but I was always leading."

Meanwhile, Pennetta kept the hopes of an all-Italian final alive with a 6-4, 6-2 demolition of Spaniard Nuria Llagostera Vives. She meets German Julia Goerges, who got the better of American veteran Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-4.