Kuznetsova Beats Davenport, Faces Bartoli in Bali Final

BALI, Indonesia -- It had been a while since Svetlana Kuznetsova held herself together while taking on Lindsay Davenport. Since winning their first meeting en route to her lone Grand Slam title at the US Open two years ago, she had dropped three tight straight-setters, including one this year at the Australian Open. But Saturday, at one of her favorite tournaments, the Russian turned the tables, ousting the American in two tie-breaks to reach the Bali final. On Sunday she'll face Marion Bartoli, who turned the tables in another head-to-head in her semifinal.

Davenport had all sorts of chances in both sets of Saturday's first semifinal, breaking in the seventh game and holding a point for 5-3; her opponent fought back and took the set in a tie-break, 7-4. She also burst out to a 5-2 lead in the second set and was within points of clinching it in the eighth game; Kuznetsova again rebounded, taking four straight games and eventually finishing the match, 76(4) 76(5), in a few minutes shy of two hours.

"I fought really well," said Kuznetsova, who is now 12-0 in Bali, having won titles in her two prior trips, 2002 and 2004. "Even when I was down in the second set, I stayed in the match and made her earn it. We were both hitting very hard. I just needed to improve my consistency, which I did towards the end of the match."

"I had chances today, with breaks in both sets, but she kept me under pressure and I couldn't seem to win the points that mattered," said Davenport, who was playing this event for the second time, having won the title last year. "After she held at 5-2 in the second that gave her some confidence and I played a sloppy game at 5-3. She's so tough; that's why she's in the Top 5 at the moment."

With the win, Kuznetsova became just the second player to pass 50 singles match wins on the Tour this year, trailing Justine Henin-Hardenne, who already has 54. The Russian has been performing exceptionally well this week considering she has the pressure of playing for the first time in her career as the top seed at a Tour event; Davenport was seeded No.3 here.

Bartoli, seeded No.6, continued to show her improved recent form in the second semi, upsetting No.2 seed Patty Schnyder, 64 64. It was the Frenchwoman's first win in their four meetings, and just her second complete win in 22 matches versus Top 10 players, her first coming just weeks ago over Nadia Petrova.

"She was definitely in better physical condition; I knew I had to win in two sets," said Bartoli, who battled cramps late in the match. "This is a very good win for me and I'm glad to finally get a win over her. I'm really happy to be in the final; I'll need to play as well again tomorrow, if not better, aggressively and smart."

"Credit to her; she played a great match and deserved the win," said Schnyder, who entered the match having won her last 10 encounters against players who hit with two hands off both sides. "I just couldn't find the right game plan. I knew if I won the second set I'd have a good chance to win the third, but I just didn't take advantage of her getting tired."

Kuznetsova and Bartoli, both 21 years old, have played five times before. They played four times in juniors, splitting those, 2-2; since transitioning to the Tour, they have played only once, a 62 60 blowout in Kuznetsova's favor at the Australian Open last year. The Russian also has more experience in championship matches, having contested 13 previously (she is 6-7 in those). Bartoli has only played one Tour singles final before, but she did win it, capturing the Tier IV title in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this year.

Straight after Sunday's singles final, the doubles final will take the court, pitting the No.2-seeded pair of Natalie Grandin and Trudi Musgrave against the unseeded Davenport and Corina Morariu. Davenport, who is playing doubles for the first time since Wimbledon last year, has won four titles with her good friend Morariu, including Wimbledon in 1999. Here, They beat top seeds Maria Vento-Kabchi and Angelique Widjaja easily, 63 62, in Saturday's semifinals, and will try to measure up against the aforementioned No.2 seeds for the title.
-- WTA