Auckland: Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic will face last year's beaten Russian finalist Vera Zvonareva in the final of the Auckland Classic after the easiest of passages through the semi-finals Friday.

Jankovic, the world No.12, is likely to be the fresher of the two in the finals on Saturday after her French opponent Camille Pin retired hurt with a thigh injury, with the score at 3-0 to the Serb in the first set.

 Fifth seed Zvonareva faced a tougher battle against unseeded American Jill Craybas, coming out on top 6-3, 7-5.

The Russian, who has a career high ranking of No.9, has a big-hitting game like Jankovic, setting the scene for an exciting final. In head-to-head meetings, Zvonareva holds a 2-1 advantage over Jankovic, having won their last two encounters. The Russian's more explosive ground strokes were a key to her win over Craybas, who harmed her cause with a high number of unforced errors.

While she won in straight sets, Zvonareva said the contest was tough.

"I always had to stay aggressive," the world No.24 said.

"If I gave her a couple of unforced errors or did not come up with the goods, then she was on top of me,"  he said.

In the earlier semi-final, Pin had medical treatment for her thigh before deciding she could not go on.

 "There was nothing I could do. I could not start running. I could not lift my leg properly. If I cannot run, I cannot play," the diminutive Frenchwoman said afterwards.

However, Pin said she was confident she would recover in time for the Australian Open, starting on January 15.