Dementieva Reaches Rogers Cup Final With Win Over Williams
Posted August 22, 2009 8:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Elena Dementieva of Russia advanced to the final of the US$2-million Rogers Cup on Saturday with a 7-6 (2), 6-1 win over Serena Williams of the U.S.
Dementieva, the tournament’s fourth seed, will face either Maria Sharapova or Alisa Kleybanova in Sunday’s championship match (CBC, 1:30 p.m. ET). It will mark the WTA Tour’s first all-Russian final since Svetlana Kuznetsova upended top-seeded Dinara Safina in the French Open final in June, and the first in the history of the tournament.
The 27-year-old Dementieva kept her cool while overcoming a 5-3 first-set deficit, and made the second-seeded Williams look ordinary in front of an enthusiastic stadium court crowd at the Rexall Centre. Dementieva also avenged her loss to Williams in the semifinals at Wimbledon, a three-set classic that took nearly three hours to play.
“I was really waiting for this match after Wimbledon,” said Dementieva, who has two tournament wins this year but none since January. “It’s always very interesting to play against Serena, and I was looking for revenge after Wimbledon.
“I was very positive on the court, and very satisfied with the way I was playing.”
Williams did her part to make things easier for Dementieva. The 2001 Rogers Cup champion, was broken five times in the match and looked out of rhythm from the start, hitting routine shots long, wide or into the net.
“I can’t say I was especially feeling the fire,” said Williams, who committed 36 unforced errors. “Obviously you want to do well, and I always really want to do well. Honestly, I think I could have and should have won, but I didn’t, so . . . it is what it is.”
Dementieva has now beaten Williams in four of their last five hardcourt meetings – a positive sign with the U.S. Open getting underway in just over a week. But Dementieva said she wouldn’t get caught looking too far ahead.
“You never know,” said Dementieva. “I feel like I’ve had a lot of good matches over the past three weeks, and I hope it’s going to be a good preparation for the U.S. Open. But right now, I just want to focus on the final.”
Williams entered Saturday having been broken just once in her first three matches – and it was the only break point opportunity she had allowed all tournament. But she struggled from the outset against Dementieva, giving up a break in the third game of the match.
Williams said she was actually satisfied with the level of her service game against Dementieva.
“I don’t think I had too many service problems,” said Williams. “I think I served better than I did my first two rounds.”
The players traded several more breaks – six in total – before Dementieva prevailed in the tiebreaker, opening up a 4-1 lead and eventually capturing the set when Williams hit a forehand long. It was the first set Williams had lost all tournament.
Williams suggested things might have been different had she fared better in the tiebreak.
“I really probably should have won the first set, which probably would have (led to) a different result,” said Williams. “But I didn’t. I started making a lot of errors (on) key shots I should have made.”
Dementieva broke Williams early in the second set to jump ahead 2-0, and held serve the rest of the way as a frustrated Williams continued to pile on the unforced errors. The match came to an end when Williams pushed a forehand wide.
The players traded several more breaks – six in total – before Dementieva prevailed in the tiebreaker, opening up a 4-1 lead and eventually capturing the set when Williams hit a forehand long. It was the first set Williams had lost all tournament.
Williams suggested things might have been different had she fared better in the tiebreak.
“I really probably should have won the first set, which probably would have (led to) a different result,” said Williams. “But I didn’t. I started making a lot of errors (on) key shots I should have made.”
Dementieva broke Williams early in the second set to jump ahead 2-0, and held serve the rest of the way as a frustrated Williams continued to pile on the unforced errors. The match came to an end when Williams pushed a forehand wide.
Serena Williams of the United States serves to Elena Dementieva of Russia during the semifinals of the Rogers Cup at the Rexall Center on August 22, 2009 in Toronto.(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
