An out-of-sorts world number one Lindsay Davenport [Images] overcame a bad start to beat 19th seed Nathalie Dechy 2-6 7-6 6-4 on Thursday and reach her second Australian Open final. Davenport, the 2000 champion, had her left thigh heavily strapped and got off to a sluggish start, gifting the Frenchwoman the first set in only 24 minutes with a string of uncharacteristic errors.
Dechy, who had never made it past the fourth round of a grand slam in 10 years, shut Davenport out early from the back of the court but the American used her powerful serve to battle her way back and force a second-set tiebreak.
Davenport won the tiebreak 7-5 on a Dechy double fault and then sealed the match when the Frenchwoman surrendered her serve to love in the final game of the third set. She will play seventh seed and 2003 champion Serena Williams [Images] in the final.
Match statistics:
| Davenport (U.S.) | Dechy (France [Images]) |
| 1st serve percentage | 67% | 73% |
| Aces | 11 | 2 |
| Double faults | 10 | 5 |
| Winning % on 1st serve | 48 of 72 - 67% | 45 of 74 - 61% |
| Winning % on 2nd serve | 11 of 35 - 31% | 10 of 27 - 37% |
| Winners (including service) | 48 | 34 |
| Unforced errors | 52 | 29 |
| Break point conversions | 5 of 8 - 63% | 6 of 15 - 40% |
| Net approaches | 27 of 33 - 82% | 7 of 8 - 88% |
| Total points won | 105 | 103 |
| Match duration two hours 12 minutes |
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