Gritty Venus sets up title defence

American Venus Williams pulled off another miraculous escape when she won a thrilling match against Russian powerhouse Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach today's final of the Watsons Water Champions Challenge.

Just like her previous Green Group match against Russian Vera Zvonareva on Thursday night, the defending champion needed to reach deep inside her arsenal of shots to finally see off the US Open champion, powering her way to an absorbing 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory at Victoria Park last night.

Williams, the world number nine, has another Russian to contend with today when she takes on last year's two-time Grand Slam finalist Elena Dementieva.

Last night's match to determine the right to play in the final was not for the faint hearted as Williams came back from 4-1 down in the deciding set before winning a tight tiebreaker, finally clinching the 135-minute encounter after the Russian teenager played an easy volley long at the net.

Williams, a four-time Grand Slam champion, began her celebrations by jumping in the air in delight, waving and blowing kisses to the capacity crowd.

'This is really what I need,' said Williams after the energy-sapping encounter. 'Playing against all the top players, I need these challenges. I need coming back from behind,' she said.