17 October 2004	Sunday	02 Ramazan 1425

MOSCOW, Oct 16: The Kremlin Cup final will be an all-Russian affair for the first time after defending champion Anastasia Myskina beat new world number one Lindsay Davenport of the United States here on Saturday.

Myskina, also the French Open champion, had already met Davenport four times but on this occasion the second seed's ill health was a factor in the Russian's 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) victory, her first over Davenport, in 1hr 18min.

In what will be her fourth final this season Myskina will face Elena Dementieva, the fifth seed, who beat another Russian, Elena Bovina, 6-4, 7-5.

The first break of serve didn't arrive until the tenth game, when Myskina broke to take a 1-0 lead.

In the second set, the duo traded breaks from the start but a tie-break loomed, and Myskina held sway to set up the first ever all-Russian final at the Kremlin Cup.

"I desperately wanted to win today," said Myskina.

"It helped me a lot that Lindsay was feeling ill, while I have just recovered from a fever.

"The surface is also rather slow which is better for me as Lindsay doesn't like long rallies."

Davenport, who regained top spot in the world rankings with a second round success here earlier in the week, admitted her poor health had left her depleted.

"I felt like I couldn't play at 100-percent," said Davenport.

"Of course it's a disappointment to lose but I have positive feelings about my performance here."

Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up this year, had no such advantage over a healthy Bovina, who lost her way in the first set when Dementieva broke serve in the third game before taking the set inside 40 minutes.

In the second the opponents produced seven breaks, but Dementieva's precision made the difference and she went on to claim the match in 1hr 40 minutes to record her fifth win in their seven head-to-head meetings.

Semifinal results (x denotes seeds):

Women

Elena Dementieva (RUS x5) bt Elena Bovina (RUS) 6-4, 7-5; Anastasia Myskina (RUS x3) bt Lindsay Davenport (USA x2) 6-4, 7-6 (7/1)

Top two seeds ousted

VIENNA: Top seeds David Nalbandian and Nicolas Massu were beaten in the quarterfinals of the Vienna Trophy on Friday.

Nalbandian, seeded one, bowed out 6-4 2-6 6-3 to sixth seed Guillermo Canas in an all-Argentine clash. Second seed Massu of Chile was beaten 6-4 6-3 by 32-year old Italian Davide Sanguinetti.

Canas has now won 21 of his last 23 matches, but the outcome of his two hour 18-minute battle with Nalbandian remained in the balance right to the end.

The entire match featured exchanges of the highest quality after Canas converted his fifth break point to lead 2-0.

Nalbandian broke back as Canas served for the set at 5-3, but then lost his serve again and conceded on the fourth set point.

Two breaks for Nalbandian in the second set levelled the match but three breaks in the final set left Canas leading 4-2. Even at that late stage Nalbandian had an opportunity to turn the match around, but Canas fought off two break points to hold for 5-2.

"It was a tough match and we both played very good tennis," said Canas.

Sanguinetti broke twice in his match with Olympic champion Massu to lead the second set 3-0, but Massu fought back and held a break point to level at 3-3.

The Italian saved that with a forehand volley, and then broke a final time for the match when Massu hit a double-fault and then put a forehand wide.

Sanguinetti said he was not too concerned as Massu threatened a recovery.

In the other quarterfinals Germany's Tommy Haas defeated American Robby Ginepri 4-6 6-3 6-4 and eighth seed Felicano Lopez of Spain earned his fourth victory in five meetings with third seeded German Rainer Schuettler, winning 6-4 6-4.

Quarterfinal results(prefix number denotes seeding,denotes new result):

6-Guillermo Canas (Argentina) beat 1-David Nalbandian (Argentina) 6-4 2-6 6-3 Davide Sanguinetti (Italy) beat 2-Nicolas Massu (Chile) 6-4 6-3 Tommy Haas (Germany) beat Robby Ginepri (U.S.) 4-6 6-3 6-4 8-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) beat 3-Rainer Schuettler (Germany) 6-4 6-4.

Vaidisova in fiinal

TASHKENT: Unseeded Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova battled into the final of the 140,000-dollar Tashkent Open WTA event by ousting second seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy here on Saturday.

The 15-year-old Czech player, who has won only one WTA title in her career - in Vancouver earlier this year - won 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/1) in 1 hr 40 min in her first ever meeting with the 25-year-old American.

Vaidisova, who is 103rd in the WTA rankings, looked dominant in the opening set, breaking her rival twice to earn a 1-0 lead in just 19 minutes.

In the second Shaughnessy managed to put her feet back on the ground and broke in the fourth game to level the scores at one set all after 58 minutes on court.

The opponents traded breaks early in the deciding set before forcing a tiebreak which Vaidisova won easily to enter the tournament final.

"I'm happy to win today. A win over such an experienced opponent has definitely given me confidence," Vaidisova said after the match. "I played well today though I was a bit nervous in the second set."

In Sunday's final Vaidisova will face Virginie Razzano of France, also unseeded, who saw off German fifth seed Anca Barna in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to record her third win in four head-to-head clashes.

The 21-year-old Frenchwoman looked slightly more focused, breaking her opponent twice in both sets before rounding off her victory in 1hr 18 min.

"I'm happy to win and very pleased with my tennis today. I was set to play agressively, serving hard and managed to follow to my plan," Razzano said.

Results from the sixth day of the WTA 140,000-dollar Tashkent Open on Saturday (x denotes seeds):

Semifinals: Virginie Razzano bt Anca Barna 6-2, 6-2; Nicole Vaidisova bt Meghann Shaughnessy 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/1) -Agencies