Moscovite Elena Dementieva thrilled her hometown fans on Sunday at the Kremlin Cup by outlasting former world number one Serena Williams 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 for the 2007 women’s singles title.
This was not only Elena’s first victory at home in Moscow, but her first career win over Serena after four previous meetings.
After losing the opening set to Williams, Dementieva stormed back to dominate the match. A disgusted Williams received a racquet abuse warning at 4-1 in the deciding set, but her shoddy performance, and multiple unforced errors let Dementieva serve out the victory on her second championship point.
Her serve – Dementieva’s biggest liability – carried her to the final this week with wins over former top 10 stars Alicia Molik, Patty Schnyder, and Dinara Safina along the way. In today’s match Dementieva only served six double faults – a low number for a three-set match, with four of those occurring in the opening set.
Losing a championship match is not a common experience for Serena Williams – the last time she failed to win a final was at the 2004 WTA Tour Championships against Maria Sharapova.
Dementieva’s victory today ensures that she will return to the top 10 (at No. 10) on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings on Monday. Serena Williams is projected to rise to No. 6.
This is Elena’s sweetest win to date. She defeats Serena Williams who she has never beaten before, wins her home title and comes back to the top 10 on her birthday and salvaging an almost forgettable year for her. I thought that 2007 would be Lena’s worst year, but this win makes it all the more sweet and unforgettable.
i totally agree! and i think she really deserves to win this one. i wish her all the best for the rest of her tournament this year and for the next season as well.
I’ve been teary-eyed and smiling like a moron for neigh on five hours.
It’s amazing what sports can cause people to feel. Just…an absolutely stunning performance and result for Elena.
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I got the feeling you weren’t too happy with this result, Aaress. :p
I LOVE ELENA! Did anyone read Bodo’s latest blog about her? Anyways, it’s good that she miraculously learned how to serve this week!
I lost track of how many big finals she has lost in the past – grand slams, olympics, and Tier I’s. If anything, this Moscow title is definitely the highlight of her career so far. While I don’t think she’ll qualify for the season ending championship, it’s great to see her finish in the Top 10 for the sixth year running! GO ELENA!
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Chris, I was perfectly okay with the result – but not the scoreboard.
And let me clarify, it had NOTHING to do with Elena Dementieva.
I was thrilled to see her win another big title, especially with wins over four former or current top 10 players. That’s a hard feat for any player, especially one that has had to deal with so much negativity because of her game.
Elena Dementieva’s serve may be her greatest liability, but like any person who is a success in tennis or even in life, she’s learned to play the hand she was dealt with. Yes, her serve is normally in shambles, but her fitness, work ethic, outlook on life, and groundstrokes makes her the best tennis player, in my opinion, to never win a Grand Slam.
Dementieva is one of the most underestimated women in the top 20 and I for one, am excited to see her back in the top 10 – where she rightfully belongs.
Okay, now for the not happy part.
Serena Williams’ mental game is shot – how else can you explain a eight-time Grand Slam champion winning the first set, only to go out 1-and-1 in a Tier I final?
It could be bad nerves, bad confidence, bad preparation, but it all translates to an extremely bad day at the office.
Unfortunately for Serena, those bad days at the office have been happening since the spring. I firmly believe part of that is no small thanks to Justine Henin. For a player as tenacious as Serena, those losses at Grand Slams have to be playing on her mind.
She deserves to be commended for putting in a full schedule this fall, but both Williams sisters are going through a tough time now that reality is starting to set in. Miraculous runs at Grand Slams are one thing – keeping it up for a full season is a completely different story.
Oh and Richard, I did read Peter Bodo’s latest blog entry over at ESPN2 on Dementieva. As usual, it was a great piece of writing, although I can’t say I miss the old “double-faults” Dementieva as much!
A great day for Elena, a real test and very personal test. She crossed the hurdle, and I was thrilled for her. There are other girls above her in the rankings, but some of them should be below her. Maybe this win will rekindle her belief. Serena played well in the first set, but, except for flashes of brillliance, can’t seem to find her former power and glory.
She still has good tennis in her, but I have said, and continue to say, that I doubt she will ever return to number one. Time is passing, and she is now a veteran, with fresh faces coming up. We will see. The Championships may shed some light on that subject.
Aaress, I personally have no problem with the scoreboard. But then again, I’m the kind of person that loves it when a top ranked person gets hit with a lopsided score like that. I’m evil.
In all seriousness though, it’s not as though someone like, well, Virginie Razzano beating Serena 1 and 1. It’s Dementieva after all. And the beatdown she put on Hingis in 06 Tokyo was far greater as well. The scoreboard looked okay at the end, even though Serena’s late meltdown does indeed suggest that she can only carry about two tournaments every three months or so.
I don’t mean to rain on the Elena parade, but I am very impressed that Serena is making an effort to play better tennis than she’s been showing. I am still a bit miffed by her last minute pull out at the Pilot Pen due to a mysterious “thumb” injury, so I am happy to see her bringing back her A game (or at least her B+ game).
Serena has been having some difficulty lately.
But she always bounce back. So has Maria
Sharapova, she has not won any majors this year. Serena can not be counted out. She showed a great showing at Australian Open 2007 and Sony Ericsson in Miami. Lets not count her
out so soon, she is only twenty six years old and has a lot a game left.
PaulaV, are you serious? I thought everyone and his brother knew that Serena Williams had fallen and hurt her thumb at Wimbledon! Surely you knew all those whiff balls she was TRYING to hit to Justine Henin were NOT characteristic of Serena’s usual firepower. Even the commentator CLEARLY said, “Something is definitely wrong with Serena’s hand!” It was too obvious to miss. How many people here actually play tennis? That was the FIRST time Justine had beat her on ANY surface other than clay. Serena was also obviously injured at the U.S. Open. It took some time to heal is all. Why are people so bizarrely skeptical of the Williams sisters’ INJURIES. OTHER top female tennis players have stayed out even LONGER with injuries. Do you people think Serena’s KNEE surgery was a figment of the surgeon’s imagination? Sheesh!
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[...] Elena Dementieva upset Serena Williams for the Tier I Kremlin Cup title. [...]