PARIS, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Venus Williams and Jelena Dokic overcame tough battles Saturday to advance to the final of the Open Gaz de France.
Williams, the top seed, rallied to beat defending champion and third seed Amelie Mauresmo of France, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 in just over two hours.
Dokic, the fourth seed, prevailed over fifth seed Monica Seles of the United States for the first time in five career meetings, posting a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over the former world No. 1.
Williams and Dokic will square off in the final on Sunday at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.
Mauresmo, who was the runner-up here in 2000, had the opportunity to reach her third straight final at the Open Gaz de France. She served for the match in the second set and moved to within two points of victory.
But the American, who had dropped just seven games in her previous two matches in the tournament, outdueled Mauresmo for the third time in as many career matches. Williams also overcame the native of Laye, France in the round of 16 at the 2001 Australian Open.
"This was a tough match and of course, Amelie had the whole stadium supporting her," Williams said. "But I stayed focused all the time and it didn't bother me."
Mauresmo, the current world No. 8, has suffered three defeats in 11 matches in 2002. She fell to Williams' sixth-ranked sister -- Serena -- at Sydney and top-ranked Jennifer Capriati at Melbourne.
Dokic's victory ensured she will move up one place to a career-high sixth in the world rankings when they are unveiled Monday.
The Yugoslavian has bounced back well after losing her first match of 2002. Dokic, 18,suffered a second-round defeat at last week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Seles has advanced to the last four in all three of her outings this year. The nine-time Grand Slam champion lost to Martina Hingis in the semifinals at Melbourne and the final at Tokyo.
"Today she was a better player, that's all," Seles said. "I'm happy with the week. It was challenging as I had a bit of problems to get adjusted to the time difference after Australia and Tokyo."
Williams will look to beat Dokic for the third straight time, having triumphed last year in the quarterfinals at Miami and the semifinals at Hamburg.
