Yaroslava Shvedova sent Romania's Monica Niculescu crashing out of the Tashkent Open to reach the semi-final stage.

Top seed Shvedova had to dig deep for victory, saving three match points in the second set against the sixth seed before easing away to a 6-7 (3/7) 7-5 6-2 win.

Next up for Shvedova is a meeting with Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, who advanced with a 6-1 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Swiss Stefanie Voegele.

Israel's Shahar Peer, seeded second, will line up in the other semi-final tie after defeating Russia's Alexandra Panova 6-4 6-4.

Her opponent will be fourth seed Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who booked her place in the last four with a 6-3 2-6 6-2 win over compatriot Darya Kustova.