Maria Sharapova won over Ana Ivanovic to battle it out against Petra Kvitova for the World No. 2 rank at the China Open in Beijing on Saturday.

French Open champion Sharapova defeated the ninth-seeded Ivanovic in a lopsided two-set match 6-0 6-4.

The 27-year-old Russian was in form as she took the first seven games in style but as soon as Ivanovic found her rhythm in the second set, Sharapova was all over her and finished the match in an hour and 28 minutes.

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Sharapova, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, will now face third seeded Wimbledon title holder Kvitova in a battle of champions.

Kvitova, 24, had a bit of trouble in her semifinal matchup against Australian Samantha Stosur who made her way to the semis after World No. 1 Serena Williams withdrawn from the match because of a knee injury.

The Czech jumped ahead in the first set as she broke the 30-year-old Australian to take the set but the 2011 Wimbledon winner came back late in the second as she grabbed a break opportunity to seal it at 7-5.

Last week's Wuhan Open champion Kvitova was all fired up in the deciding set as she broke Stosur twice to win the match 6-3 5-7 6-2 and earned a showdown against Sharapova.

"I'm quite tired already. A lot of matches in Wuhan and here," Kvitova said. "I'm looking forward to go to Europe. So I'm glad the final match is the last one here, then I can go."

With World No. 2 Simona Halep exiting the tournament early, the winner of the finals will move on take over Halep's spot in the rankings and if Williams decided not to participate in the year-ending WTA Tour Finals in Singapore, that player will have a chance to take over her spot as No. 1.

If Williams decided not to participate then her position will be filled up by either Angelique Kerber or Ekaterina Makarova who currently stands in 9^th and 10^th place respectively after the retirement of China's Li Na.

Tagsserena williams, Angelique Kerber