Elena Dementieva; A look at her final year’s performance on the tour
Born on 15 October 1981 in the city of Moscow, Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a former tennis player from Russia. She is most famous for capturing the singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing back in 2008. She grabbed a total of sixteen WTA
singles crown and also made her way into the title battle of French Open and United States Open back in 2004 in her career. The Russian achieved her career high ranking of world number three last year and announced her surprise retirement on October 29, 2010
after her final clash at the WTA Tournament in Doha. She ended her career ranked number nine in the world.
The 29-year-old Elena started her final year’s campaign on the WTA tour by competing at the Medibank International Women’s singles competition where she successfully made her way into the final and got the better of former world number one Serena Williams
in two sets. The score line was 6–3 6–2. The Russian surpassed Dinara Safina as well as Victoria Azarenka while reaching the title battle.
Seeded number five at the year’s opening Grand Slam; the Australia Open in Melbourne, Elena overpowered Vera Dushevina in the opening round in straight sets. In the second round, the Russian was defeated by the former world number one, Justine Henin of Belgium
in two sets. The final match score was 5–7, 6–7 (6).
Her next competition was the 2010 Open GDF Suez where she again did well to make her way into the title battle on the second occasion in a row. In the final, Elena rallied back from a set down to get past Lucie Safarova in three sets. The final match score
was 6–7(5), 6–1, 6–4.
Dementieva was seeded number five to win the title at the French Open Women’s singles competition in Roland Garros. The right hander after surpassing Petra Martic, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Aleksandra Wozniak and Chanelle Scheepers advanced into the semi
final round where she faced Francesca Schiavone. The professional tennis ace from Russia, however, withdrew from her semi-final match after losing the opening set due to her calf injury.
The 1.80 meters tall Elena made a comeback on the WTA tour at the Bank of the West Classic as seeded second to win the title. She breezed into the final eight where the Russian was eventually hammered down by her compatriot player Maria Sharapova in three
sets.
At the year’s final Grand Slam, the United States Open in New York, the Monte Carlo resident got the better of Olga Govortsova, Sybille Bammer and the twenty fourth seed Daniela Hantuchova to reach the fourth round where Elena dropped four match points before
falling to the fifth seed Samantha Stosur of Australia.
The Moscow-born next made her way into the finals of the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open where she met the number one seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Elena knocked down Yaroslava Shvedova, Flavia Pennetta, Vera Zvonareva and Francesca Schiavone, however,
at last lost to Caroline.
At the China Open in Beijing, she couldn’t win her third round battle as she was toppled by Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in straight sets.
Dementieva's last competition of the year as well as her professional life was the WTA Tournament in Doha, where the Russia successfully qualified on the third occasion in a row. Seeded seventh to win the title, Elena who was drawn in the Maroon Group fell
to Caroline Wozniacki in two sets, overpowered Samantha Stosur 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(4) and next met Francesca Schiavone who dispatched off Elena in a two-setter clash, which turned out to be her final match on the WTA tour. The score line was 6–4, 6–2.
Tags: