Due to the application-specific nature of wireless sensor networks, the sensitivity to such a requirement as data reporting interval varies according to the type of application. Such considerations require an application-specific, parameter tuning paradigm allowing us to maximize energy conservation prolonging the operational network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a reporting interval adaptive, sensor control platform for energy-saving data gathering in wireless sensor networks. The ultimate goal is to extend the network lifetime by providing sensors with high adaptability to application-dependent or time-varying, reporting interval requirements. The proposed sensor control platform is based upon a two phase clustering (TPC) scheme which constructs two types of links within each cluster - namely, direct link and relay link. The direct links are used for control and time-critical, sensed data forwarding while the relay links are used only for multi-hop data reporting. Sensors opportunistically use the energy-saving relay link depending on the user reporting, interval constraint. We present factors that should be considered in deciding the total number of relay links and how sensors are scheduled for sensed data forwarding within a cluster for a given reporting interval and link quality. Simulation and implementation studies demonstrate that the proposed sensor control platform can help individual sensors save a significant amount of energy in reporting data, particularly in dense sensor networks. Such saving can be realized by the adaptability of the sensor to the reporting interval requirements.