Davenport, Sharapova in Pan Pacific final
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-05 17:17

Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport had seven aces in a straight-sets victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova on Saturday to advance to the final of the Pan Pacific Open, a tournament she has won four times.

Maria Sharapova returns a shot to Elena Likhovtseva during their Pan Pacific Open quarterfinal tennis match in Tokyo, Feb, 4, 2005. [Reuters]

Davenport, defending champion of the $1.3 million tournament, used a strong serve and solid groundstrokes to win 6-1, 7-6 (2) over the third-seeded Kuznetsova on carpet at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Davenport will face Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in Sunday's final. The second-seeded Sharapova was a 6-1, 7-6 (3) winner over Japan's Shinobu Asagoe.

"I started off well and she made a few errors," Davenport said. "I was able to serve well in the second set. The surface here suits my game, and I think that was the difference."

Davenport trailed 3-1 in the second set, but broke Kuznetsova's serve twice before winning in the tiebreaker.

"I didn't take advantage of my chances," Kuznetsova said. "I made too many errors and you can't play like that and expect to win against a player like Lindsay."

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