NEW YORK, Sept 10: Kim Clijsters will play for the biggest purse in the history of women’s sport in Saturday’s US Open final after beating Russian top seed Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.

The athletic Belgian fourth seed needed six match points to kill off the stubborn Siberian 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 on Friday, setting up a final against French 12th seed Mary Pierce.

Pierce became the first Frenchwoman to reach the final but was left denying accusations of gamesmanship after her 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 semifinal win over Elena Dementieva on a day of double misery for Russia.

Clijsters was left with a different kind of double to consider.

The Belgian who has lost all four of her previous Grand Slam finals will have the added incentive of a double-your-money $2.2 million payout if she wins against Pierce, her reward for having topped the pre-slam US Open Series rankings.

Sharapova served abysmally for much of their semifinal, but made an extraordinary recovery from 5-6, 0-40 down in the second set to force a third set.

The 18-year-old again fought back from 4-0 down to make a fight of the decider but Clijsters, with six titles to her name this year, ultimately deserved a victory she sealed at the sixth attempt when Sharapova netted a tired forehand.

The Belgian former world number one has raced back up the rankings since recovering from wrist surgery last year and will start Saturday’s final a strong favourite.

Clijsters will double her prize money even if she loses on Saturday.

Sharapova broke in the first game but went downhill fast. She lost her serve eight times in the match, twice more than she had in her five previous matches.

The Florida-based Russian, who says she has grown two inches this year, blamed her inferior athleticism.

Pierce’s win over Dementieva left a sour taste.

The twice former Grand Slam winner was accused of unfair tactics by her opponent after having a 12-minute medical timeout for a back and thigh massage at the end of the first set which she had lost comprehensively.

When she resumed, this year’s French Open runner-up showed little sign of any physical problems and dominated a clearly irritated Dementieva in the next two sets.

Pierce has won all six of the grand slam semi-finals she has contested, a statistic that belies her reputation for having a brittle temperament.

Pierce was granted two back-to-back injury timeouts of six minutes each. Under the rules a player is allowed a three-minute assessment period followed by three minutes of treatment for each injury.

Dementieva was not happy and angrily tossed her blonde pony-tail when the Frenchwoman bent double with a clenched fist after breaking for 5-2 in the second set.

Friday’s results:

Women’s singles:

Semifinals: 4-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) bt 1-Maria Sharapova (Russia) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3; 12-Mary Pierce (France) bt 6-Elena Dementieva (Russia) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.—Reuters