Russia's Vera Zvonareva managed to book a US Open semifinals slot for the first time by ousting Estonia's Kaia Kanepi in straight sets on Wednesday.

The seventh seeded Zvonareva beat Kanepi 6-3, 7-5, one step closer to her second straight Grand Slam final. The 26-year-old Russian lost the Wimbledon final in straight sets to Serena Williams on July 3.

"It was very tough out there today," Zvonareva said of victory over the 31st-seeded Kanepi amid gusty winds at the National Tennis Center in New York.

"I was putting all the effort into trying to hang in there no matter what the conditions were. I'm so happy I pulled it out."

Both players struggled to hold serve. There were 11 service breaks in the one hour, 53 minute match.

Kanepi, playing in her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, had her serve broken three times by Zvonareva in the first set while making 25 unforced errors to Zvonareva's 12. The match ended on Kanepi's 60th unforced error of the afternoon.

Zvonareva next plays either top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark or unseeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia as the two will decide a winner at the night.