Auckland, New Zealand (My Sportsbook) - Top seed Elena Dementieva will face fellow Russian Elena Vesnina in Saturday's final at the WTA Tour's season- opening $220,000 ASB Classic after both players won their semifinal matches on Friday. The two-time major runner-up Dementieva beat France's Aravane Rezai 6-2, 6-2, while Vesnina downed Britain's Anne Keothavong 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 7-5. The 27-year-old world No. 4 Dementieva will seek her 12th career title in her 25th final. She was a three-time titlist last year, including a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing. The 22-year-old Vesnina, a finalist for the first time in her career, took Dementieva to three sets in their lone previous encounter, in 2006 in The Netherlands. Saturday's winner will pocket $37,000. |
