Mauresmo to lose No. 1 ranking; Sharapova eyes top spot

"I had a lot of chances that I didn't close out in the first set," Kuznetsova said. "I was losing my concentration, but that's normal after a long season."

Kuznetsova took control of the second set, breaking Dementieva with a forehand winner for a 2-0 lead. She held serve -- saving four break points -- and the match went to serve until a netted backhand by Dementieva sealed it.

"I'm looking forward to raising my game tomorrow, but today it was enough," Kuznetsova said.

Hingis stormed to a 4-1 lead in the first set against the fifth-ranked Petrova, who beat Mauresmo on Tuesday. Petrova broke Hingis twice en route to winning the second set.

But 41 unforced errors cost the Russian. In the deciding set, Hingis broke in the sixth game and sealed the win with a forehand pass on her second match point.

"I wanted to come out here and at least win one after yesterday's loss, so I'm very happy," Hingis said.