Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova booked a final clash at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Saturday with identical scores.
World number one Davenport beat US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 7-6 while second-seed Sharapova fought off a resilient Shinobu Asagoe by the same margin before 8,633 fans at Tokyo's Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Davenport had little trouble with Kuznetsova in the first set as the third seed scattered balls around the court, but in the second, Davenport matched the US Open champion error for error.
However, Davenport used some good serves and a double fault by her Russian opponent to leap into a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak while Kuznetsova couldn't string enough shots together to offer a challenge. Two netted backhands saw the end of her resistance.
"She made some errors in the first set and I was able to take advantage of that," Davenport said. "I tried to stay aggressive. This fast surface suits me better and I think that was the difference."
In the first semi-final, Japan's Asagoe, who beat Russia's Elena Dementieva in the quarters, looked out of her depth as she lost all three of her service games in the opening set.
REAL FIGHTER
Wimbledon champion Sharapova was sharp from the beginning and had little trouble breezing through the set using strong serves and crisp ground strokes.
In the second set, world number 32 Asagoe was a different player as she rediscovered her serve and fought tirelessly to put pressure on her Russian opponent with some long rallies.
But in the tiebreak her sixth double-fault and a lucky ace by the Russian -- her seventh of the match -- gave Sharapova the advantage and she won through 7-3 after an Asagoe backhand sailed long.
"The second set was very close with some really good rallies and it came right down to the end," Sharapova said. "She played a really great match and is a real fighter. The points were really good."
Davenport, a four-times champion here, said she was looking forward to the final.
"Maria likes fast surfaces so I'm expecting a tough match," the top seed said. "On this surface, you need to serve well and just try and hold on, but you have to go for your shots."
