Nathalie Dechy advanced to the final of the Pilot Pen tournament, using quick, accurate play to beat Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-0 Friday.
The eighth-seeded Dechy will face doubles partner and seventh-seeded Elena Bovina in today's championship match. Each has won a match against the other this year.
Also Saturday, Martina Navratilova will go for her 175th doubles title with partner Lisa Raymond, after defeating Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Rennae Stubbs of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-4. They will play Nadia Petrova and Meghann Shaughnessy.
Bovina used her big serve to overpower fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-1.
Dechy, of France, took the lead with a break in the first game and moved ahead as Raymond's forehands landed in the net or off the court. Raymond rallied by winning three straight games, punctuated with a break at 5-2 with a winning forehand down the sideline.
Dechy took the set in the 10th game when Raymond's backhand slice, usually so effective, betrayed her repeatedly.
In the middle of the first set, Dechy took a time out and had a trainer work on her neck.
Dechy said she felt something crack in her neck when she hit a passing shot. She said she was unable to move her head, but the trainer worked on the neck to loosen it up. Dechy also took a pain reliever and decided to move her feet more to compensate for the stiffness in her neck.
Dechy jumped out quickly in the second set and took the match on an 87 mph ace, followed by a crosscourt backhand.
Raymond, playing singles and doubles this week, said fatigue was not to blame for the loss.
"She's playing well, and I think I just came out a little too flat tonight," Raymond said. "I'm definitely disappointed in myself."
Two-time defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Joachim Johansson on Friday to reach the semifinals of the TD Waterhouse Cup.
The victory avenged Paradorn's 6-2, 6-3 loss to the Swede in the Athens Olympics. Paradorn is one of the two-time champions in the tournament, joining Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1994-95) and Magnus Norman (1999-2000).
The 25-year old Paradorn will play Luis Horna of Peru in the semifinals. Horna, 23 and with no titles in his seven years on the ATP Tour, beat Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
"I tried to stay positive after I lost the first set," said Paradorn, ``and I told myself to just hit good shots and that I'd win ... one point at a time.
"This is my house and I love to play here,'' he said. ``It's nice to be on center court. It was hard to get a rally going against someone with such a big serve."
Johansson broke Paradorn in the opening game of the match, but said he woke up Friday morning with an upset stomach, which hampered him in the match.
"After the first set I got more and more tired," Johansson said. ``He started playing better and I couldn't run as much.''
Lleyton Hewitt of Australia overcame a loss in the first set and beat Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2. The former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion will face Dmitry Tursunov, a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 winner over Jurgen Melzer, in the other semifinal.
Hewitt, coming off a win at the Legg Mason Classic last week, won his eighth straight match and boosted his overall record to 51-13, including 15-2 in North American hardcourt competition.
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