Davenport dumped as Kuznetsova reaches third Bali final

Sep 16, 2006, 17:05 GMT

Bali, Indonesia - Svetlana Kuznetsova polished her record to a flawless 12-0 at the Wismilak International Saturday as she handed defending champion Lindsay Davenport a first-ever defeat at the venue, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5)

The top-seeded Russian champion will Sunday aim for a third trophy in the tropics as she plays the winner from Swiss second seed Patty Schnyder and number 6 Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

Schnyder had to quit last year's semis with heat exhaustion but has pulled up fit at this edition.

Kuznetsova came back from a break down in both sets while holding off a Davenport charge from 5-2 down in the second-set decider.

The Russia, 2004 US Open winner, collected her 50th victory of the season as Davenport lost as she played the 901st match of her career.

Kuznetsova survived with nine aces and benefited as the 30-year- old American slowed slightly in the humid conditions in a battle lasting almost two hours.

'I'm so happy to win in two sets,' said Kuznetsova. 'I really had to work to get back.'

It could have gone three sets as Kuznetsova trailed 5-2 in the second, but a fightback and a pair of breaks in the final two games brought on another tiebreaker.

The top seed had to struggle to survive when Davenport put on the comeback ressure. But two backhand errors off the Californian's racket spelled victory for Kuznetsova, only her second in five attempts in the series.

'I'm not having a holiday here, I've been working hard on my game,' said the delighted winner.

Davenport confirmed her participation net week in Beijing, but said that her season might be over after that event. She has played only six tournaments in 2006 due to back problems which kept here away from March to the US Open.

'It was a good match, very close,' said Davenport. 'She played better when she was down and I maybe I let up a bit in the second set.

'It was just a few points here and there. A few of those going my way and the match could have been in my hands.'