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.
