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By Sean Rudolph
(August 27, 2010) Elena Dementieva served for the match, but Caroline Wozniacki returned with another comeback. The two-time defending New Haven champion fought back from a 3-5 third-set deficit for a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Dementieva to advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. final against Nadia Petrova. Wozniacki raised her record to 12-0 at the Pilot Pen.
"It was really tough in the beginning. I had some back problems," Wozniacki said. "I felt stiff. I took some Tylenol and that helped. It was really tough."
It was the eighth consecutive victory for Wozniacki, who is seeking her second title in six days. Wozniacki swept Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva in succession on Monday to capture the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
"I always feel great here," said Wozniacki, who clinched the US Open Series title and could win a $1 million bonus if she wins the US Open. "I know I can do it and win this tournament."
In today's all Russian semifinal, the eighth-seeded Petrova rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Maria Kirilenko.
Playing her third consecutive three-setter, the fourth-seeded Dementieva was up 5-3 and served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. But Dementieva netted a forehand and hit a backhand long to drop serve.
Wozniacki held for 6-5 and earned triple match point when Dementieva dumped three consecutive forehand errors.
Undeterred, Dementieva hit an overhead winner to save the second match point and fired a forehand winner down the line to save the third match point. Dementieva reeled off eight consecutive points to hold serve and take a 3-0 lead in the tie breaker.
At 5-all in the breaker, Dementieva sent a backhand beyond the baseline handing Wozniacki a fourth match point. Wozniacki cracked a crosscourt backhand then curled a crosscourt forehand winner to close out the match.