Sharapova marches on
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ByEurosport
Published 23/10/2004 at 14:16 GMT
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova remained on course for a third successive title by beating fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the semi-finals of the Zurich Challenge on Saturday. It was Sharapova's 12th win in a row on a run that has earned
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The 17-year-old world number seven fought back from a set down to topple the world number five 4-6 6-2 6-3.
In Sunday's final Sharapova will take on unseeded Australian Alicia Molik who upset local favourite and 10th-seed Patty Schnyder 4-6 6-1 6-4.
"It was a very tough match and a very long one, so I'm happy to have won," Sharapova said after taking the encounter in just under two hours.
"I thought I was the more aggressive player on the crucial points which helped me dictate the play."
Apparently in top form after firing three aces in the opening game, Sharapova seemed to lose concentration shortly afterwards, gifting Dementieva the lead in the fifth with three unforced errors and a double fault.
The teenager from Siberia kept her cool, though, turning the match around with a six-game winning sequence at the end of the second and start of the third set.
Saturday's win was Sharapova's 12th in a row, coming off the back of tournament triumphs in Seoul and Tokyo.
It also continued a miserable trend for Dementieva who has now lost to fellow Russians in four of her last six tournaments.
Sharapova will be a strong favourite in Sunday's final against Molik, although the 23-year-old Australian has shown little respect for her supposed betters in Zurich this week.
The Athens Olympic bronze medallist and world number 20 had already seen off Russian sixth and eighth seeds, Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova, before Saturday's three-setter against Schnyder.
The only previous meeting between Molik and Sharapova came at this year's grasscourt tournament in Birmingham, England, where the Russian won their quarter-final in straight sets.
Molik, in her first top level final, said: "I've beaten a lot of top 20 players this week so I'm on a roll and just hope can continue that tomorrow.
"I won't be looking to change too much about my game. Maria's been playing some great tennis but I just plan to worry about what I'm doing."
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