France-Russia Level at 1-1 in Fed Cup Final; Coria Says Canas Not a Crook

Coria, playing sluggishly after two matches on Friday to make up for rain delays, saved three match points in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Thomas Johansson.

"I had three match points on my own serve and couldn't convert one of them," said an incredulous Johansson after the match. "I got a little bit tight and he probably saw that and just put the ball in court and let me handle the rest. To come back after that is a tough thing to do. I didn't serve well at the important points. If I'd served well on the match points I'd be sitting here as a winner."

The Argentine nicknamed "El Mago" miraculously seemed to get more spry as the match proceeded.

"It was very hot and I was really struggling at the start with my reaction time," Coria said. "But luckily I was able to turn it around and by the end I was at full speed."

Nadal leads the head-to-head with Coria 2-1, all on clay.

"It will be a difficult match," Nadal said. "Whatever happens it's been a good tournament and I will leave this tournament feeling good. It should be a nice final against Coria, the third of the year, and hopefully it will be like the first two finals."

The all-unseeded doubles final will be Gimelstob/Healey vs. Russians Tursunov/Youzhny.

All-Romanian Final to No-Romanian Final at ATP Bucharest

In a matter of hours the ATP final in Bucharest turned from a potential all-Romanian party to an all-unseeded downer Saturday when unseeded Frenchman Florent Serra ousted No. 3-seeded Romanian Andrei Pavel from a set down, and unseeded Russian Igor Andreev performed likewise against No. 4-seeded Romanian Victor Hanescu.

Insult was added to injury for Hanescu, who blew three match points against Andreev. No Romanian has ever reached the final in Bucharest.

Serra will be playing for his career-first title, while Andreev will be shooting for his second after the claycourt championship earlier this year in Valencia.

The doubles final will be Hanescu/Pavel vs. the No. 3-seeded duo of Acasuso/Prieto.

Pierce Falters, Mauresmo Levels in Fed Cup Final Against Russia

Mary Pierce, reportedly in the best shape of her career, nonetheless collapsed in the third set in a 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 loss to Elena Dementieva Saturday to open the Fed Cup final at Roland Garros versus Russia.

"I had some problems at first but I felt better in the second set," said Pierce, who played with a taped right thigh after also struggling with injuries at the US Open. "It's difficult with the time difference and the change of surface but it's the same for Elena."

Dementieva's camp's plan was to run Pierce on the red clay and test her troubled thigh.

"She played well in the first two sets," Dementieva said. "I just continued to play the same game in the third set and remain aggressive. The plan was to run Pierce all over the court as we thought that I was the stronger player physically."

France's Amelie Mauresmo followed by restoring order for the home team, convincingly defeating last year's struggling French Open champion Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 6-2.

Both players dropped serve twice in the first set, then in the second Mauresmo broke in the sixth game, and finished by breaking the Russian in the last game for the win.

"She gave me a lot of points and made lots of mistakes," Mauresmo said.

Rather than Mauresmo gagging at the site of numerous past chokes it was Myskina tightening up with the pressure of defending the Fed Cup championship.

"That's the worst I've ever played. What can you do when you play like that?" Myskina said. "I could not control my tennis. I'm defending my country. It's a different situation. You're not playing for yourself. There's so many people behind you and you think you're disappointing them."

Mauresmo will face Dementieva in the first singles Sunday, then French captain Georges Goven will make the difficult decision whether to risk playing the injured Pierce again.

"I'm ready to play but it's the captain's choice," Pierce said. "If he feels another player can do a better job, fine."

Davenport Vacation Continues in WTA Bali Final

The exotic resort location of the WTA stop in Bali has provided the perfect relaxation experience, along with the occasional tennis match, this week for American Lindsay Davenport, who on Saturday put in roughly an hour of work in dispatching of China's Li Na 6-2, 6-2 to advance into the final.

"It was the kind of tennis I wanted to play," Davenport said. "Even a few balls that I missed, I thought I struck the ball well, better than the other nights. I knew that she liked to dictate play so I was trying to overpower her and hit the ball hard and not let her have a lot of time."

The only Top 10 player this week in Bali, Davenport has had a laid-back week that shouldn't get any more difficult when she faces Italy's Francesca Schiavone Sunday in the final.

Schiavone advanced into the final when Switzerland's Patty Schnyder retired in the third set with heat exhaustion, though temperatures failed to top 90 degrees.

"I started to feel unwell at the beginning of the second set, after two or three games," Schnyder said. "I was feeling dizzy like I couldn't coordinate what my legs and what my hands were doing. I felt like a beginner out there."

For a while it appeared it might be a battle of attrition to see which player retired first, with Schiavone making numerous unforced errors and dragging herself around the court after coming off a long three-set quarterfinal win Friday.

"It is very, very hot," Schiavone said. "The humidity is high. For me too it was not easy. You have to change your shirt, you have to drink correct, eat correct, sleep correct. To stay here is wonderful, but you have to follow every step."

Schiavone will have to gather her reserves on Sunday to face Davenport, who she lost to easily in their only previous encounter at 2004 Moscow.

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