DOHA, Qatar (AP) French Open champion Francesca Schiavone beat Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 to earn her first victory at the WTA Championships.
Schiavone and Dementieva had no chance of advancing to the semifinals because of earlier losses in their Maroon Group. Schiavone had lost twice already, while Dementieva was knocked out despite beating Sam Stosur of Australia on Thursday.
Schiavone's consistent returns and net play rattled Dementieva into returns long and wide.
The four semifinalists are No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, No. 4 Kim Clijsters and Stosur. The matchups will depend on who wins Friday's late match between Clijsters and Zvonareva.