New Haven, CT (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova got past her countrywoman Elena Dementieva on Friday to reach the final at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament, a final U.S. Open tune-up.Kuznetsova was leading the sixth-seeded Dementieva 4-6, 6-3, 3-0 in their semifinal on the hardcourts at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale when Dementieva retired due to nausea, amid steamy conditions. The two-time Grand Slam runner-up Dementieva also succumbed to Kuznetsova in the 2004 U.S. Open finale.
Dementieva double-faulted 12 times on Friday.
"I'm just a little sick," Dementieva said. "It was really humid and hot out there."
The 22-year-old Kuznetsova's quarterfinal opponent also retired here, as Kuznetsova was leading Francesca Schiavone when the Italian called it quits on Thursday.
Kuznetsova's final opponent will be Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay, who rallied to beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in a semifinal match that went 2 hours, 17 minutes.
The 18-year-old Szavay had advanced to the semis with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko, and had never faced Daniilidou coming in.
She's also never battled Kuznetsova, who will appear in her 20th career WTA final and is seeking her ninth overall title. She's a disappointing 0-4 in her 2007 finals thus far after losing in Qatar, Indian Wells, Berlin and Rome.
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