ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) - Maria Sharapova defeated fellow-Russian Elena Dementieva 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final of the 1.3 million dollar WTA event.
Her opponent in the final will be 10th seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland or unseeded Australian Alicia Molik, who were playing later Saturday.
Fourth seeded Sharapova, who will be chasing her fifth title of the year and third in three tournaments, struggled at times to overcome an opponent who struck the ball just as hard and sometimes more accurately.
It took the Wimbledon champion until the middle of the second set to gain any sort or control, and she was able to claim the last three games of the second set and the first three games of the third to put herself in the lead.
In a match with plenty of skilful and competitive rallies, third seeded Dementieva took the opening set, breaking to lead 3-2 on her fifth break point when her opponent netted a backhand, and then holding off one break point at 4-3 and another at 5-4.
Sharapova eventually managed to combine aggression with accuracy in the second set.
After the players had swopped breaks at 2-1, the 17-year old broke again to lead 4-2 when the ball hit the net cord and fell in her favour, and dropped just two more points in the set.
In the third, a break for 2-0 when Dementieva netted a forehand was enough to decide the match, but Sharapova had to struggle to maintain her lead. She had to hold off three break points at 3-1, before earning two match points on Dementieva's serve at 5-2.
Dementieva saved the first with a big forehand and Sharapova netted a return on the second. Sharapova then had to hold off a break point as she served for the match at 5-3, but Dementieva put the ball wide.
10/23/2004 - 14:13 GMT - AFP