NEW YORK - Kim Clijsters will play for the biggest purse in the history of women's sport in the US Open final after beating Russian top seed Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals.
The athletic Belgian fourth seed needed six match points to kill off the stubborn Siberian 6-2 6-7 6-3
on Friday, setting up a final against French 12th seed Mary Pierce.
Pierce became the first Frenchwoman to reach the final but was left denying accusations of gamesmanship after her 3-6 6-2 6-2 semi-final win over Elena Dementieva on a day of double misery for Russia.
Clijsters was left with a different kind of double to consider.
The Belgian who has lost all four of her previous grand slam finals will have the added incentive of a double-your-money US$2.2 million payout if she wins against Pierce, her reward for having topped the pre-slam US Open Series rankings.
Sharapova served abysmally for much of their semi-final but made an extraordinary recovery from 5-6, 0-40 down in the second set to force a third set.
The 18-year-old again fought back from 4-0 down to make a fight of the decider but Clijsters, with six titles to her name this year, ultimately deserved a victory she sealed at the sixth attempt when Sharapova netted a tired forehand.
The Belgian former world number one has raced back up the rankings since recovering from wrist surgery last year and will start Saturday's final a strong favourite.
"It was tough, I gave everything I had on those match points but she just came up with better shots," said Clijsters. "I still find it very hard to believe. It's amazing." Clijsters will double her prize money even if she loses on Saturday but she said: "I'm not really playing for the money I just want to go out there and have fun.
"Since my injury playing tennis means so much more. It's my first grand slam final since my injury so let's go for it." Sharapova broke in the first game but went downhill fast. She lost her serve eight times in the match, twice more than she had in her five previous matches.
The Florida-based Russian, who says she has grown two inches this year, blamed her inferior athleticism.
"I gave it all in that tiebreaker but I ran out of gas in the third set," she groaned.
"Physically I still have to get a lot better. This is not something that is going to happen overnight. I'm 18 and my body's still growing."
Pierce's win over Dementieva left a sour taste.
The twice former grand slam winner was accused of unfair tactics by her opponent after having a 12-minute medical timeout for a back and thigh massage at the end of the first set which she had lost comprehensively.
When she resumed, this year's French Open runner-up showed little sign of any physical problems and dominated a clearly irritated Dementieva in the next two sets.
Pierce has won all six of the grand slam semi-finals she has contested, a statistic that belies her reputation for having a brittle temperament.
"I can't believe it. This is amazing. It is so good," she said.
Asked about her injury problems, Pierce said: "It's pretty simple. Today after I lost the first set I just kept thinking about a friend of mine Pat back home who is sick. She just gave me the power to play today."
Pierce was granted two back-to-back injury timeouts of six minutes each. Under the rules a player is allowed a three-minute assessment period followed by three minutes of treatment for each injury.
Dementieva was not happy and angrily tossed her blonde pony-tail when the Frenchwoman bent double with a clenched fist after breaking for 5-2 in the second set.
The Russian said: "I don't think it was fair play but she could do that by the rules. If that's the only way she can beat me that's up to her.
"Do I think she had something (injury)? I don't think so, but she could do it by the rules and she did it.
"That's the way she plays. That's the way she wins. That's the kind of player she is. She tries to use everything." Pierce denied she had done anything wrong.
"I'm 30-years-old. I've been on the tour 17 years. I don't believe in that," she said. "I know that I have a certain amount of time that I'm allowed.
"The trainer could have come out three more times but I didn't need it."
- REUTERS
NEW YORK - Kim Clijsters will play for the biggest purse in the history of women's sport in the US Open final after beating Russian top seed Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals.
The athletic Belgian fourth seed needed six match points to kill off the stubborn Siberian 6-2 6-7 6-3
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