Chakvetadze rallies, Szavay holds on to reach Paris final

PARIS -- Top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze beat Marion Bartoli 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday to face Agnes Szavay in the final of the Open Gaz De France.

The Russian cruised through the third set, breaking Wimbledon finalist Bartoli three times. Chakvetadze converted her first match point after a backhand into the net by Bartoli.

Chakvetadze lost her serve twice in the first set, landing only 39 percent of her first serves.

Both Chakvetadze and third-seeded Bartoli were massaged by a trainer in the second set. The players traded breaks until Chakvetadze managed to hold her serve for a 3-2 lead before breaking her French opponent in the next game with a forehand winner down the line.

Seventh-seeded Szavay outlasted fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

"Agnes was playing a smart game," Dementieva said. "She was mixing up a lot. I think she has a good chance to win this tournament because she's in good shape."

The Hungarian converted her first match point after a forehand error from Dementieva.

"She really likes (it) when somebody is hitting flat against her and she never misses on those balls," Szavay said of her Russian opponent. "So I tried to mix it up a little bit and it worked."

At 5-4 in the third set, Dementieva was serving for the match but couldn't finish it off, firing a backhand wide to let Szavay break back and level at 5-5.

"It was the big moment of the match," Dementieva said. "I couldn't hold my serve. I had lots of opportunities to finish the match but I just didn't use them."

A long backhand return from Dementieva gave Szavay the first set. Out of frustration, Dementieva slammed her racket against the ground.

"I feel like I made too many unforced errors today," Dementieva said. "I was rushing a lot. I was trying to go for the winner. But I wasn't prepared for it. As a result, I was missing a lot."

Dementieva struggled on her serve in the first set, hitting four double faults. Szavay broke Dementieva twice to lead 2-0 and 4-0.

But the Russian took Szavay's serve on a double fault before winning her service game to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Dementieva fought back in the second set, raising her level while Szavay made a string of unforced errors.

Dementieva broke Szavay three times for a 5-1 lead before saving two break points in the next game to take the second set.

"She played really well in the second set," Szavay said. "I was a little bit passive. So she pushed me down on the court. But in the third set, I could come back and play my game."