Kuznetsova downs Dementieva to reach semi-finals

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Aug 24 (Reuters) Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova put out fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3 3-6 6-2 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the New Haven event.

In a repeat of the 2004 US Open final, Kuznetsova rallied from a break down in the third set to clinch victory in one hour 54 minutes.

The fifth seed next plays second seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium or Italian 'lucky loser' Mara Santangelo.

The match contained 12 breaks of serve but also superb hitting from the baseline as the pair took turns to dominate.

Third seed Dementieva looked the favourite when she broke in the first game of the decider before Kuznetsova moved up a gear.

Australian 'lucky loser' Samantha Stosur beat Marion Bartoli of France 7-6 6-0 to reach the last four.

Later yesterday, top seed and world number one Amelie Mauresmo plays champion Lindsay Davenport for the right to meet Stosur.

In the men's event, 10th seed Agustin Calleri of Argentina defeated Chilean Nicolas Massu, the 14th seed, 6-3 3-6 6-4 to set up a meeting with Belgian Xavier Malisse or Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.

Swede Robin Soderling followed up his win over third seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus with a 6-3 6-2 win over Austrian Juergen Melzer to reach his third semi-final of the year.

Soderling next faces second seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia or unseeded Belgian Olivier Rochus.

REUTERS VJ BST0301