NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Elena Bovina withstood on-court heat of 100 degrees to beat practice partner Nathalie Dechy 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in the Pilot Pen final.
The seventh-seeded Bovina won her third WTA title in a U.S. Open tuneup in which there was a 10-minute break before the third set because of the sweltering conditions.
With the score tied at 4 in the third set, Bovina held off two break points when Dechy's forehands landed in the net. Bovina won the game on a crosscourt winner. Dechy tied it in the next game, but Bovina answered with two aces to lead 6-5 and won the next four points to take the match.
Also, Martina Navratilova failed to win her 175th doubles title as she and Lisa Raymond lost 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) to Meghann Shaughnessy and Nadia Petrova.
TD WATERHOUSE CUP: Lleyton Hewitt reached the final when Dimitry Tursanov quit with a back injury after the opening game of the second set at Commack, N.Y. Hewitt led 6-3, 1-0. Hewitt plays in his third consecutive final: He won in Washington last weekend and was runnerup in Cincinnati before that. In the other semifinal, ninth-seeded Luis Horna beat two-time defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
FOREST HILLS CLASSIC: Top-seeded Elena Likhovtseva beat fourth-seeded Iveta Benesova in the final in New York. Likhovtseva won her third title in her 12 years on the WTA Tour.
