All-Russian Final for 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Feb 29, 2008 | Print |
Courtesy of Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships will be an all-Russian affair on Saturday.
Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova is set to play her countrywoman eighth seed Elena Dementieva in the championship match.
Both women advanced to the final round on Friday after emerging victorious in three set semifinal wins.
Kuznetsova battled past fourth seed Jelena Jankovic 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, followed by Dementieva edging out giant-killer Francesca Schiavone 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Schiavone previously defeated Justine Henin on Thursday in two tie-break sets.
This marks the thirteenth all-Russian final in the history of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, the latest happening only last week at the Qatar Total Open in Doha between Maria Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva.
One of the most notable Russian championship matches occurred four years ago at the US Open when Kuznetsova defeated Dementieva for her first, and to date, only Grand Slam title.
Since then the pair have met five times with Kuznetsova holding a slight 3-2 lead.
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