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Serena Williams to meet Dementieva in Moscow final

Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva advanced to the final of the Kremlin Cup yesterday.

Williams beat top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (2), 6-1, while Dementieva eliminated fellow Russian Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0.

Williams put early pressure on the No. 2-ranked Kuznetsova, breaking her in the third game of the first set. But Kuznetsova leveled at 4-4 after Williams netted an easy forehand on the third break point.

Williams dominated the tiebreaker, going up 3-0 and 6-1 before clinching the first set.

The No. 7-ranked Williams then broke Kuznetsova in the second and fifth games of the second set to win in 1 hour, 28 minutes.

Williams has not dropped a set on the way to her third final this season. The eight-time Grand Slam champion is playing in Moscow for the first time in a decade. In 1997, the 16-year-old Williams qualified and lost in the first round when she was ranked 448th.

The 22-year-old Kuznetsova, who won the US Open in 2004, was playing the 300th match of her professional career.

Dementieva, the 2001 and 2004 runner-up, had little trouble against an erratic Safina. After trading breaks early in the first set, Dementieva won eleven consecutive games to win in 1 hour, 9 minutes.

"The score does not reflect the exertion of the match," Dementieva said. "Dinara is a true fighter and even when I was a set and 4-0 up she fought tough."

Safina could only threaten Dementieva with two break points in the fifth game of the second set. Dementieva held on for 5-0 and closed the match on the first match point when Safina netted a backhand.
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