France's Mary Pierce, a two-time Grand Slam finalist this year, posted her second straight round-robin win at the WTA Tour Championships on Wednesday, downing Elena Dementieva in straight sets.
Pierce, playing in the elite season finale for the first time since 1999, defeated Dementieva 6-2, 6-3, her second victory in the Black Group putting her within sight of a semi-final berth.
On Tuesday she upset Kim Clijsters in three sets, avenging her straight-set loss to the Belgian in the US Open final in September.
Clijsters, whose nine titles this year included her first career Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows, is gunning this week not only for a title and a first prize of one million dollars, but also for a chance to seize the year-end world number one ranking from American Lindsay Davenport.
She had a chance to get her campaign back on track with her second round-robin match later Wednesday, when she met France's former world number one Amelie Mauresmo in a Black Group clash.
Davenport, who opened her campaign in the Green Group on Tuesday with a straight-set win over Russian Nadia Petrova, was to play Switzerland's Patty Schnyder.
Pierce, 30, showed no sign of the fatigue that several women in the eight-player field have complained of as they wrap up a long season.
She never looked in serious danger against Dementieva, quickly taking a 4-0 lead in the opening set. She dropped her own serve once, but pocketed the set with a break when Dementieva coughed up one of her six double faults on set point.
She broke Dementieva in the second game of the second set, then fought off three break points in the third game to lead 3-0. Although she gave the break back in the seventh, she regained the advantage in the eighth and served out the match after 69 minutes.
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