Petrova nears another title, beats Kuznetsova for first time

STUTTGART, Germany -- Nadia Petrova, chasing her fifth title of the season, defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 Saturday to reach the Porsche Grand Prix final.

The fourth-seeded Petrova beat the 2004 U.S. Open champion for the first time in three career meetings.

"That was a very hard match," Petrova said. "I almost lost faith in myself and tried just to fight for every point."

Petrova, who has won all four of her finals this year, will face Tatiana Golovin on Sunday. The unseeded Golovin upset fifth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5.

The 18-year-old Golovin, whose family moved from Moscow to Paris, reached her first WTA tour final. She holds a 3-0 record against Petrova.

Petrova won after Kuznetsova lost the last two points on unforced errors.

Kuznetsova's poor drop shot at deuce -- after Petrova popped a weak return -- allowed Petrova to hit the ball into the open court for match point. Kuznetsova then netted an easy backhand.

Petrova used a powerful serve to roll though the first set in 34 minutes, firing an ace at set point. Kuznetsova cruised in the second set.