Shanghai, Sept 21: Russian top seed Elena Dementieva overcame a rally by third-seeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan on Saturday 6-1 3-6 6-3 to advance to the final of the US$585,000 Shanghai Open.
Playing on hardcourt at the Xian Xia Stadium in Western Shanghai, No 9 ranked Dementieva outplayed 12th-ranked Sugiyama in the first set, driving shots deep to her right. But Sugiyama rallied in the second set and Dementieva gave up points on double faults. In the final set, the 21-year-old Russian again wore 28-year-old Sugiyama down with well-placed shots to the back court.
In the other semifinal, American second seed Chanda Rubin defeated unseeded Akiko Morigami of Japan 6-0 7-5 6-3.
Rubin's aces blanked Morigami in the first set but the American, ranked No 10, flagged in the second as Morigami's game sharpened. Rubin, a WTA Tour veteran with seven titles to her name, prevailed in the final set over the 78th-ranked Japanese.

Dementieva comes into the final having beaten Rubin just a week earlier in the final of the Wismilak International tournament in Bali.