Serena, Kuznetsova Reach WTA Beijing Final, Zvonareva Cries Out

Serena for her part was all business and was not affected by the Russian's hysterics.

"I never lost focus, I never thought I was going to go down tonight," Serena said. "I've been really relaxed here. I've really enjoyed myself here in Beijing...I've been so relaxed it must have come out on the court."

In the final Serena will face Kuznetsova, who will be shooting for her third consecutive title after the US Open and Bali. Kuznetsova pummeled countrywoman and Wimbledon winner Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-2. Sharapova has a 7-5 win-loss record since raising the trophy at the All England Club.

"My serve helped me a lot today. I've been serving well and receiving well," Kuznetsova said. "She likes to win easy points and I didn't want to give them to her."

Serena won her lone meeting with Kuznetsova on clay at Rome in straight sets.

"I've played all Russians. I feel like I've been playing a tournament in Russia," said Serena, who this week has wins over Russians Dinara "Little Sis" Safina, Nadia Petrova and Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva.

U.S. Clinches, Spain Leads 2-1 in Davis Cup Semifinals

American twins Bob and Mike Bryan sealed the 3-0 win for the U.S. over Belarus Saturday with a convincing 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 win over Max "The Beast" Mirnyi and Vladimir "The Vladinator" Voltchkov to put the U.S. in the Davis Cup final for the first time in seven years.

"It was huge going in there 2-0 and knowing we can go in there and kind of put the hammer down," Bob Bryan said. "It's huge motivation for us."

In contrast to the 1990s when the U.S. had on-again, off-again support from No. 1s Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, current coach Patrick McEnroe nurtured rabid support from Andy Roddick, who since making his Davis Cup debut rose to No. 1, and from the Bryan brothers who also rose to the No. 1 spot. Currently both Roddick and the twins reside at No. 2 on the ATP Rankings in singles and doubles.

The Americans will now face the winner of the weekend's other semifinal between Spain and France. If the Spanish win, they host the finals, but the Americans will host if France wins. The Americans last made the finals in 1997 and last won in 1995 behind a stellar one-man effort by Pete Sampras in Russia on red clay.

In the semifinal at Spain, Juan Carlos Ferrero was in no mood to fool around in the resumption of his singles match from Friday, winning three straight games to finish Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro 6-3, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to even the tie at 1-1. In the first match on Friday, France's Paul-Henri Mathieu had stunned Carlos Moya in five sets to put France on top.

In the doubles Saturday, Spain's Tommy "The R." Robredo and Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal put Spain up 2-1 in the tie with a 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement.

The reverse singles on Sunday will be Ferrero against Mathieu, and Moya against Santoro (likely to be changed with Santoro suffering a wrist problem).

Davis Cup World Group Qualifying Results

Australia d. Morocco 3-0
Veteran Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs and all-time doubles title leader Todd Woodbridge seal the tie with a more-difficult-than-expected 7-6(7), 7-6(2), 6-3 win over Mounir El Aarej and Mehdi Tahiri to put Australia back in the World Group for 2005.

Romania Leads Canada 2-1
The Canadian duo of Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer, now 5-0 together in Cup play, defeated Victor Ionita and Florin Mergea 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 Saturday to keep the Canucks in the match. The Sunday reverse singles are scheduled with Romania's Andrei Pavel vs. 19-year-old Canuck Frank Dancevic in a first-time meeting, and Romanian Victor Hanescu against Simon Larose. "Frank is a very talented player," Nestor opined. "Pavel will have his hands full."

Russia d. Thailand 3-0
Marat Safin and Mikhail Youzhny clinch the tie with a routine 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 stomping of twin brothers Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana. Note to Thai team: When you have a Top 20 player who can play net like Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, it's probably a good move to play him in the doubles when you're down 0-2 in the tie. Something to think about next time.

Germany Leads Slovak Republic 2-1
Tommy Haas and Alexander Waske put Germany in the driver's seat Saturday in the doubles against the Slovak Republic, surviving a fierce comeback by Slovaks Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty and Karol Kucera to triumph 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to put Germany up 2-1 in the tie. Haas will get the chance to seal the deal on Sunday in the first singles against The Dominator (Haas has won 6 of their 7 meetings), with the second singles featuring Germany's Florian "Oscar" Mayer versus Karol Beck.

Czech Republic d. Paraguay 3-0
Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek clinched the tie Saturday in the doubles for a 3-0 sweep, defeating Paraguay's Paulo Carvallo and Raemon Delgado for a berth in the 2005 World Group.

Chile d. Japan 3-0
Nicolas "The Golden Child" Massu and Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez hammer Japan's Thomas Shimada/Takahiro Tarachi 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the tie Saturday in three easy steps and advance into the World Group for 2005

Croatia d. Belgium 3-0
Croats Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic came back from a set down twice during a rollicking five-set affair Saturday in Croatia, defeating Dick Norman and Kristof Vliegen 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3, 7-5 to clinch the tie and put Croatia back into the World Group for 2005.

Britain and Austria Tied 1-1
"Grinning" Greg Rusedski had a lot to smile about Saturday after pulling Britain's fat out of the fire against Austria, coming back from a set down to beat Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) after teammate Tim Henman was rolled in straight sets in his opener against Stefan Koubek. "I think that was one of the most inspired performances Greg has ever had on a claycourt," said Brit coach Jeremy "Master" Bates. "That was just courage out there. He had a hell of a journey to get here at the weekend, he's only had five days to acclimatize from the American hardcourts and with the pressure on him to perform with us 1-0 down, that was a great effort." Due to a rained-out Friday the first two singles and the doubles were played Saturday. The tie remains at 1-1 after the doubles was halted due to darkness with Austrians Julien Knowle and Alexander Peya leading Henman and Rusedski 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
This weekend was the first-ever semifinal in Davis Cup play for Belarus, who will remain in the World Group for 2005...After leading Russia back into the World Group, Marat Safin says a Davis Cup title is not out of the question for 2005: "We have a new, young team, which is capable of doing great things in the near future. (Igor) Andreev is turning into a top class player, (Mikhail) Youzhny is still young and capable of repeating his Davis Cup heroics and myself -- we have a core of a pretty good team here."...Max "The Beast" Mirnyi summed up the chances of the U.S. Davis Cup team in the final against Spain on the red clay: "None of the American players have had success on (European) clay in the past. I'm sure the Spaniards are aware of that, so they're going to do everything they can to play to their advantage and try to win another Davis Cup title." U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe is not so sure: "It would be a tremendous challenge and a tremendous opportunity to do something amazing. I mean, I'd love to have a Davis Cup final at home. But when I saw the draw early on, and I saw what the potential was, I was excited about going to Spain for the final. We know they have a great team, and so do we. I think our guys will really get up for it...Andy (Roddick) has won tournaments on clay. I think going into a Davis Cup final where Andy knows he's gotta play two matches is a little bit different than going into say, the French Open, and...I know he'll be pumped up for that...But it will be indoors, so I think that'll help us a little bit as well. And you can serve pretty big indoors, even on clay."...Andy Roddick shooting off in his post-match conference after winning his Friday singles at the Davis Cup: "I think it's very, very stupid that the ITF makes us come in here and do press while our teammate (Mardy Fish) is on the court and while you guys are trying to cover the match as well. You know, to interrupt it and make you guys come in here...it's a very, very bad rule. Sorry."...Steffi Graf beat Gabriela Sabatini 6-1, 7-5 in a charity match in Berlin, with the proceeds going to her charity Children for Tommorrow: "It is fantastic to have a stadium named after me as I am only 35," Graf said about the Berlin event. "I have fond memories of Berlin...I was so nervous before the match. I tried to train and make up for the time I have been out of tennis. To be honest I was surprised how well I played."...Another Superset tennis exhibition will be played next Sunday in Britain with players John McEnroe, Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Goran Ivanisevic, Mario Ancic, Robby Ginepri, Tommy Robredo, and Boris Becker playing for the 250,000 Pound prize. Each match will be one set. "I watched the one last year and saw six or seven of these guys who looked like they were about to fall over they were so nervous," McEnroe said. "They were so tight because there was so much money to win and if you don't win you don't get anything."