TENNIS in DEPTH.

Elena Dementieva of Russia moved into the quarterfinals of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament with 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-4 win over Kateryna Bondarenko.

Dementieva says she rested for four weeks after tearing a left calf muscle during the French Open and is excited about getting in more matches before next week’s U.S. Open.

She will face Marion Bartoli, who defeated Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday. Flavia Pennetta also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

Alexandr Dolgopolov of Russia beat James Blake 6-4, 6-2.

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Venus  Williams will head to the U.S. Open next week without having played on tour since her quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon on June 29. Williams is seeded No. 3 at the Open.

Venus acknowledges that a sprained left kneecap that’s sidelined her during the summer hard-court circuit means her U.S. Open preparation “wasn’t ideal.”

Williams also declares herself “ready for the Open,” which she won in 2000 and 2001.

During a conference call Tuesday to promote an interactive tennis clinic sponsored by Polo Ralph Lauren that she’s hosting Thursday, Williams says she’s “had a tough summer, with some bad luck with my leg.”

She hurt her knee shortly before the WTA tournament in Cincinnati that began Aug. 9, and also withdrew from the tournament in Montreal last week.

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Caroline Wozniacki cruised to victory in the Rogers Cup final with an assured 6-3 6-2 win over Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in Montreal.

Both players dropped serve early on, before Wozniacki edged decisively ahead with a break in the fourth game.

The second seed was equally clinical in the second set, converting break points in third and seventh games while Zvonareva wasted four of her own.

Earlier Wozniacki beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in a rain-delayed semi.

The 20-year-old, who lost to Kim Clijsters in last year’s US Open final, will immediately head to New Haven for her final warm-up tournament ahead of a return to Flushing Meadows.

Her hopes of lifting her first Grand Slam title in the absence of world number one Serena Williams will have been buoyed by her continued good form on a busy day’s play.

Only hours before disposing of Wimbledon finalist Zvonareva in 74 minutes, she had crushed her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-3 in the semi-final.

The number two seed resumed the match, which she began on Saturday, at 2-0 up in the first set and made short work of the encounter.

Zvonareva made her way into the final after Victoria Azarenka retired at 7-6 (8-6) 1-0 down.

The Belarussian, who squandered two points t take the first set, was forced to concede the match as he suffered with a blister on her left foot.

“It is just one of those things you can’t do anything about,” said Azarenka.

“I tried to deal with it, but I could not continue.”

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Caroline Wozniacki became the first player into the Rogers Cup final in unconventional second Monday play, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova handily on Court Central at Uniprix Stadium, 62 63.

Wozniacki, the No.2 seed, had won the first two games of their semifinal on Saturday when rain started to fall, and when it stopped Monday morning the pair took the court again. Wozniacki remained sharp, never losing her serve and breaking the No.11-seeded Kuznetsova once more in each set.

“It was tough for both of us, waiting two days, but I just hung in there and played one point at a time,” Wozniacki said on court afterwards. “Now I’m just going to relax, eat something and get as much energy as possible for the final.”

In the other semifinal on Banque Nationale, No.8 seed Vera Zvonareva was leading No.10 seed Victoria Azarenka, 76(6) 10, when Azarenka retired from the match due to a left foot blister. Azarenka had two set points, one at 6-5 in the first set and another at 6-5 in the ensuing tie-break, but couldn’t convert.

The final is scheduled for Monday afternoon on Court Central.

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Roger Federer warmed up for the US Open in style by clinching his 17th Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati today.

The Swiss world number two got the better of home favourite Mardy Fish after coming out on top in a war of attrition.

In a match dominated by the serve, Federer secured the only break deep into the deciding set to clinch a 6-7 (5/7) 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 triumph in two hours and 40 minutes.

“It was a perfect match for both of us,” Federer said afterwards, “but only one can win it.

“Mardy played fantastic.”

The outcome means Federer will be in perfect shape to regain the crown at Flushing Meadows after his run of five successive titles was ended by Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in last year’s final.

Fish can also take a great deal of confidence to New York after a wonderful week in which, after entering as a wild card, he saw off Andy Murray and Andy Roddick en route to the final.

The American certainly held his own against Federer although the few opportunities which did arise fell the way of the former world number one.

Federer held four break points in the first set – including one set point – but was unable to execute.

And he paid the price as Fish upped his game to clinch the tie-break.

The second set followed a similar pattern with both players struggling to gain any fluency on their returns.

Fish had the only break point which came and went.

This time it was Federer who found the reserves to up the tempo in the breaker, clinching it for the loss of just one point to take the match all the way.

A third tie-break seemed on the cards only for Fish to lose concentration for a moment, allowing Federer a break point at 4-4 which he converted when the American netted a routine backhand.

Federer showed his opponent no mercy by serving it out with ease to claim his fourth title in Cincinnati.

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Rain has delayed Sunday’s planned resumption of the semifinals of the $2-million WTA Montreal Rogers Cup, the last major women’s hardcourt tune-up event before the U.S. Open begins in eight days.

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki led former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 2-0 when rain halted their semifinal match on Saturday.

Russia’s Vera Zvonareva will play Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to decide the other player in the championship match.

Matches were set to begin Sunday morning with the final in the afternoon, but organizers have said they will move matches to Monday if necessary.

And a bleak Monday forecast has left the possibility of a Tuesday finish.

If the tournament is not completed on Monday, the WTA said it would reassess the situation consulting with Rogers Cup officials, the players and television about extending it another day.

If the tournament is abandoned, all the remaining players will split the prize money and ranking points.

The last time the WTA was forced to abandon an event was 10 years ago in Scottsdale when Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis were unable to play the final because of rain.

World No. 2 Wozniacki is the top women’s seed in the WTA-ATP event at New Haven where main draw matches began on Sunday.

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Roger Federer ensured he would remain the world’s second ranked player heading into the US Open after reaching the final of the Cincinnati Masters with a straight-sets win over Marcos Baghdatis.

The Swiss hardly raised a sweat as he cast aside the unseeded Cypriot, who beat world number one Rafael Nadal in the previous round, 6-4 6-3 in just over and hour.

Federer needed to reach Sunday’s final to keep a hold of the number two ranking and will fancy his chances of going on to claim to title with wild card entrant Mardy Fish lying in wait.

Fish won through with a 4-6 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 win over compatriot and ninth seed Andy Roddick.

Roddick had looked on course for an easy win after he won the opening set and led 5-2 in the second before the players were forced off for the second time due to rain.

But when they returned Fish was a different player as he forced the second set to a tie-break, which he won before running away with the match.

Victory for Fish also provided the world number 36 with some measure of revenge after Roddick had beaten him in the final of the same tournament in 2003, when Fish squandered match points.

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