No. 2 seed, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and No. 11 seed, Elena Dementieva of Russia are set to face each other on Saturday in the final of the 2010 Pan Pacific Open being played in Tokyo, Japan.
Wozniacki withstood a late comeback in her semifinal match to defeat 8th seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on Friday, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4 to reach the final. Dementieva had a little easier time defeating this year’s French Open champion, 5th seeded Francesca Schizvone of Italy in the other semifinal in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
Commenting on their matchup, Dementieva said: “I’m just very happy to be in the final and expect a very tough match against Caroline. She has been playing very well this season.” Wozniacki said, “I’ve had a great run the last couple of months. I’m feeling confident, but I know there’s a very tough opponent I’ll have to face tomorrow.”
Wozniacki and Dementieva are 3-3 in career matchups, with Wozniacki winning 3 out of the last four. Wozniacki has won four WTA titles this year and Dementieva has won two.
Wozniacki could overtake Serena Williams at No. 1 in the world rankings if she wins the championship in Tokyo and reaches the quarterfinals or better in Beijing next week.
