Dementieva Clinches Final Champs Spot at Philadelphia

No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva recovered from a shaky start to defeat unseeded Czech Kveta Peschke Friday at the WTA stop in Philadelphia, securing the final berth for the WTA Championships with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 win.

"I was just so happy," Dementieva said. "I was just trying to play very aggressive and go for the winner. Now, I know that I'm in L.A. and I'm really happy about it."

Also into the semifinals were WTA Championship qualifiers Amelie Mauresmo (d. Washington) and Nadia Petrova (d. Sucha), and racing teen Nicole Vaidisova who recorded her 18th consecutive win with a victory over Lisa Raymond in straight sets.

Matched in the Saturday semifinals are (6) Petrova vs. (4) Dementieva in an all-Russian, and (3) Mauresmo vs. (7) Vaidisova.