A three-set first round win is not usually good news for a former top ten player, but for Elena Dementieva, it paled in comparison to the thoughts of retirement that nagged her only weeks ago.
I knew Dementieva’s rib injury earlier this season was serious, but I definitely had no clue how serious it was until today. Apparently, it was enough to start the two-time Grand Slam finalist thinking about the possibility of an early retirement.
Dementieva, whose first round win today in Warsaw was far from easy thanks to American Meilen Tu and snow falling on the court, admitted after her victory that she had such a hard time coming back to the WTA Tour that she even considered hanging up her racquet for good.
“It was a very disappointing and tough time for me,” Dementieva said according to Eurosport. “I couldn’t really do anything and it was time for me to think what I want to do in my life and did I want to come back or do something else.
Elena’s career has been a series of ups and downs since reaching two Grand Slam finals in 2004. She lost the Roland Garros trophy to her compatriot Anastasia Myskina by crashing out 6-1, 6-2. Then only four months later, her hopes of winning the US Open were denied her in straight sets by another Russian tennis player. This time it was Svetlana Kuznetsova’s time to shine – and Dementieva was outplayed 6-3, 7-5.
She has never regained the form she saw in 2004 and even though she has been on the Tour for nine years, she still only has six titles to her credit. Her infamous serve is partially to blame for the problem, but she has managed to finish in the top ten for the past four years in a row.
She started out 2007 with a run to the semifinals at the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open, but it was at her next event, the Proximus Diamond Games, that she saw the bottom fall out of her hopes for a solid start to the season. A painful rib injury caused her to retire from her opening round match in Antwerp – and forced her to sit out the sidelines for the American hard-court season and her beloved Fed Cup.
Her three fractured ribs were so bad that Dementieva began to feel that her age was starting to catch up with her.
“I’m not that young. I’m 25 years old, and when something like that happens it’s really difficult to start practising after not playing for six weeks,” added Dementieva.
“I was not able to even go for a little run and I completely lost almost everything. For me it was like starting at the beginning, playing against the wall on my first practice. It was really difficult.”
Like her first practice, her first match back was also really difficult. Instead of just battling an opponent, Dementieva had a chance to battle the elements as well.
But in the end, snow was just another bump on the road to recapturing her spot inside of the top ten.
Dementieva will play her second round match at the J&S Cup against either Michaella Krajicek or Venus Williams.
She may only have six titles, but look who’s beaten her in finals – Mauresmo, Henin, Sharapova, Myskina, Kuznetsova. 17 finals is decent.
Anyway, I’m curious: do you think Elena’s past her prime? Or is she still within a decent shot of being a top-10 player?
After being down 5-4 in the third, I knew that if Elena could break back, that her fire to win was still there. That waned since she won LA, and that was just the second sign since then of her amazing resilience (the first being her 46 75 75 win over Srebotnik in October). Most other struggling players with form would have just given up, but I ramble!
I don’t really care if Elena ever gets back in the top 10, I just want her to get that Slam. Then she really can retire in peace.
Thanks for mentioning that about the finals Chris – she’s lost a lot of close matches.
Judging a player’s prime is pretty tricky. Six months ago I might have said Serena’s prime was long gone!
I do think Elena will regain her spot in the top 10, but I’m not convinced that she’ll match her peak in 2004. Her serve is such a liability and she has a difficult time competing against the likes of Sharapova, Venus, Serena, and Justine.
She did fight hard today, especially when Tu served for the match, and like you said, that’s a good sign for the future. Plus her game works on just about any surface, and that is what has kept her inside of the top ten all these years.
Elena is not past her prime per se, but she is past her prime in terms of ability. She just can’t seem to improve her usually pathetic serve, therefore she will be really lucky to ever capture a major. I really want her to too.