Elena Dementieva ousts Sharapova for spot in JPMorgan Chase final
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Aug 12, 2006 | Print
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No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva upset top seeded Maria Sharapova today at the JPMorgan Chase Open in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.
Sharapova’s performance today in the semifinals was littered with unforced errors, and although Dementieva did not play her cleanest, it was enough to secure her a spot in her third Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final this season.
I must admit that I was looking forward to a potential showdown between Maria and Serena tomorrow in the final, and I never suspected that Elena would take out Maria in just two sets. Dementieva did have a rough singles match yesterday against Bethanie Mattek, followed by a loss in the doubles, but she had no problems today against Sharapova, especially in the second set. Maria saved her best tennis for her last service game by saving five match points, before Dementieva finally grabbed the break to gain a berth in tomorrow’s final round.
As for her chances of winning the title, I would pick her to win only if Jankovic somehow upsets Serena in tonight’s second semifinal.
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