Second-seeded Frenchwoman Mary Pierce has defeated Belgium's Kim Clijsters in round-robin play at the season-ending Women's Tennis Association Championship tournament in Los Angeles.
Pierce scored a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 win over the fifth-seeded Clijsters Tuesday, gaining revenge for her straight-sets loss to the Belgian in the final of the U.S. Open.
In other matches, world number-one and top-seed Lindsay Davenport of the United States beat number-seven Nadia Petrova, 6-2, 7-6, to remain undefeated against the Russian in seven matches.
Another Russian, third-seeded defending champion Maria Sharapova, needed three sets to get by number-eight Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Under the round-robin format, the top two finishers in each of the two four-woman groups advances to the single elimination semifinals. Davenport, Sharapova, Schnyder and Petrova make up the Green group, while the Black group has Pierce, Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo of France and Elena Dementieva of Russia.
