Dementieva Moves into Pilot Pen Quarterfinals
Elena dementieva, ranked no.13 by the WTA has moved into the quarterfinals of the Pilot Pen Women singles’ Tennis Tournament on Wednesday after beating the Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko by 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), and 6-4.
Dementieva is a Russian professional tennis player who has won two Olympic medals in singles’ event, including gold at Beijing in 2008. She also played in the finals of 2004 French and US Opens. Dementieva presented a display of consistent performance during the match against Bondarenko. While being an offensive baseline player, she played really powerful ground strokes off both side and efficiently defended herself. Her improved serves didn’t give any chances to Kateryna. Dementieva will now be facing Marion Bartoli in her next match. Bartoli is a French and currently at no.9 in the world. She was the runner-up at Wimbledon Championships of 2007 and has won five Women’s Tennis Association titles.
For the first time since 2008, Dementieva nowadays is not on the top 10 list. She told media that the reason for this is her left calf muscle which got injured in June during the French Open and due to this; it has taken her some time to feel comfortable on the U.S. hard courts. "I expected to play summer matches to get my confidence back and just to feel the surface" she said. "Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that." In doubles, the Russian has won six titles during her WTA tour. Altogether, she has won twenty two career title awards out of forty four.
Dementieva’s strong and powerful performances on the court always win the hearts of her fans. She has no particular favorite surface; maybe that’s the reason for her success as she could adapt to any surface easily although it has been seen that she is a bit uncomfortable moving on clay courts. Dementieva is known for her heavy ground stroking baseline game, which is usually more prominent on grass courts. Her athletic serve, especially the slice serve took her to two consecutive semi finals at the Wimbledon. Her preferred groundstroke is forehand with which she hits hard and flat. She is also a very good runner and known for her excellent speed around the court. Her net approaches are rare.
It is being thought that Batoli will give a tough competition to Dementieva as she is well known for her unorthodox style. She uses both her hands for the forehand and backhand and is a hard-hitter.
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