Elena Vyacheslavovna Dementieva (born October 15, 1981, Moscow), better known as Elena Dementieva, is a professional tennis player from Russia.
Dementieva played and won her first international tournament, Les Petit As, in France at the age of 13. In 1997, she entered the WTA top 500. She turned professional in 1998 and entered the top 100 in 1999.
In 1999, Dementieva represented Russia in the Fed Cup final against the United States, scoring Russia's only point when she upset Venus Williams 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), recovering from a 4-1 third set defecit. She played her first Grand Slam main draws, qualifying for the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon and receiving a direct entry into the U.S. Open. She reached the second round at the Australian Open and French Open, made a first round exit at Wimbledon, and reached the third round of the U.S. Open.
In 2000, she entered the top 20 by winning more than 40 singles matches for the second straight year and earned more than U.S. $600,000. She became the first woman from Russia to reach the U.S. Open semifinals, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Dementieva won the silver medal, losing to Venus Williams in the gold medal match 6-2, 6-4. In 2000, Dementieva was named the WTA tour's Most Improved Player.
2001 was the second straight year in which Dementieva finished in the WTA's top 20. During the year, she became the top ranked Russian player, a position previously held by Anna Kournikova since December 1997. Dementieva, however, suffered a shoulder injury in Australia. To keep playing matches, she altered her serve, adding slice and changing her motion. After her shoulder healed, her service motion stayed the same, and many consider it the worst serve among the top players. She has double faulted as many as 19 times in a match and hit 50 mph first and second serves.
In 2002, Dementieva and her partner Janette Husarova of Slovakia reached the final of the U.S. Open and won the year-ending WTA Tour Championships. In singles, Dementieva defeated a top ranked player for the first time, beating world No. 1 Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-2 in a quarterfinal in Moscow. Dementieva reached the final of that tournament, losing to Jelena Dokic.
In 2003, Dementieva played the most tournaments among top ten players (27) and won approximately U.S. $900,000 in prize money. At Amelia Island, she won her first WTA tour title, defeating Amanda Coetzer, Daniela Hantuchová, Justine Henin-Hardenne, and second ranked Davenport. Dementieva was the lowest seed (10th) to win the tournament in its 24-year history. She also won back-to-back titles in Bali and Shanghai, defeating Chanda Rubin in the final in both events. Dementiva finished 2003 in the top 10 for the first time (No. 8). In addition, she reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon doubles with her friend and compatriot Lina Krasnoroutskaya, beating the Venus and Serena Williams team along the way.
Dementieva's breakthrough year was 2004. In Miami, she defeated Venus Williams in the quarterfinals and Nadia Petrova in the semifinals. Dementieva then lost to the top seeded and two-time defending champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-1. On April 5, she reached her highest singles ranking at sixth in the world. With fifth ranked Anastasia Myskina and ninth ranked Petrova, it was the first time that three Russians appeared in the WTA top 10 simultaneously. In May at the French Open, Dementieva reached her first Grand Slam final, defeating former top ranked Davenport in the fourth round, Mauresmo in the quarterfinals, and Paola Suarez in the semifinals, all in straight sets. Dementieva lost to compatriot Myskina in the first all-Russian Grand Slam final. (The last female Russian Grand Slam finalist was Dementieva's coach at the time, Olga Morozova, at 1974's French Open and Wimbledon.) Later that year at the U.S. Open, after a first round loss at Wimbledon to Sandra Kleinova, Dementieva reached her second Grand Slam final, defeating Amélie Mauresmo and Jennifer Capriati en route. Countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Dementieva in straight sets in the final, becoming the third consecutive Russian Grand Slam winner. Following the U.S. Open, Dementieva won her first title in Hasselt and reached the Moscow finals for the second time, losing to Myskina.
In 2005, Dementieva reached six semifinals, the most important being at the U.S. Open. She also reached the final in Charleston, losing to Henin Hardenne, and Philadelphia, losing to Mauresmo despite serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set. In the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, Dementieva defeated top ranked Davenport 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6) for her second victory over a current No. 1 player. In the semifinals, she lost to Mary Pierce 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. The momentum of the match with Pierce changed in Pierce's favor when, with Dementieva up a set, Pierce received 12 minutes of on-court medical treatment. Partnering Flavia Pennetta of Italy, Dementieva reached her second doubles final at the U.S. Open
Following the U.S. Open, Dementieva helped Russia repeat as Fed Cup champions, beating France 3-2 in the final. All three points came from Dementieva, as she avenged her loss to Pierce at the U.S. Open, beat Amélie Mauresmo, and then won the deciding doubles match with partner Dinara Safina. At the WTA Tour Championships, Dementieva lost all three round robin matches against Mauresmo, Pierce, and Clijsters with the same score each time: 6-2, 6-3.
Dementieva started slowly in 2006. After losing to Kim Clijsters in an exhibition in Hong Kong, she lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Julia Schruff. But immediately following that tournament, Dementieva won her first Tier I event, the Toray Pan Pacific Open. On the run to the title, she defeated Katarina Srebotnik, Nicole Vaidisova, and Anastasia Myskina, all in three sets. She then defeated the resurgent Hingis, with Hingis saying after the match, "If she played like that all the time, she'd win Grand Slams."
At the Pacific Life Open, despite double faulting 79 times in six matches, Dementieva reached the final. She defeated rising stars Sania Mirza, Ana Ivanovic, and Na Li along the way. Dementieva then upset Henin Hardenne in a semifinal 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. The victory was her fourth three set match of the tournament, and fatigue contributed to her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Maria Sharapova in the final.
After the Pacific Life Open, Dementieva lost in the fourth round in Miami to Tatiana Golovin. Dementieva's subsequent clay court results were largely mediocre. Dementieva lost in the Warsaw semifinals to Kim Clijsters, Berlin third round to Hingis for the first time in four matches, and the Rome quarterfinals to Dinara Safina. Dementieva then lost in the third round of the French Open to Shahar Peer 6-4, 7-5 after being up 4-1 in both sets. On grass, Dementieva reached the s'Hertogenbosch semifinals, losing to Michaella Krajicek despite holding a match point, and the Wimbledon quarterfinals. At Wimbledon, Dementieva beat Mirza, Meghann Shaughnessy, Elena Likhovtseva, and Shenay Perry before losing to fourth seeded Sharapova 6-1, 6-4.
Dementieva was Russia's top player for the 2006 Fed Cup World Group I playoff against Croatia, winning both her single matches in straight sets.
In August 2006, Dementieva won the JP Morgan Chase Open in Los Angeles by defeating Jelena Jankovic in the final 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. En route to her sixth career title, she defeated everyone who had beaten (or, in the case of the U.S. Open, would beat) her at the 2006 Grand Slam tournaments—Schruff in the second round, Peer in the third round, Sharapova in a semifinal (for the first time since 2003), and Jankovic in the final.
At the 2006 U.S. Open, Dementieva reached the quarterfinals for the fourth time, losing to Jankovic 6-2, 6-1. The three games she won were all breaks of serve. Dementieva did not hold serve during the entire match. Dementieva remarked afterwards, "Yeah, it is disappointing, you know. I'm getting older, and I haven't won a Grand Slam, so that's really what I'm thinking about all the time. I feel like I was in a good shape here. That's why it's sad.".
In the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Dementieva overcame cramps and a 6-4, 4-1 deficit to defeat Srebotnik 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. When serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, Dementieva collapsed and needed treatment. Dementieva failed to serve out the match but broke Srebotnik again and finished the match on her second opportunity. But due to the injury sustained from her second round match, Dementieva withdrew from the tournament.
At her home tournament in Moscow, Dementieva reached her seventh semifinal of 2006, losing to Anna Chakvetadze, after defeating Peer (and saving a match point) in the second round and Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals for the first time this year.
Dementieva qualified for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships for the seventh straight time, the only active player to do so. She lost to all three players in her round robin group: Sharapova 6-1, 6-4; Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-3; and Clijsters 6-4, 6-0. Her career win-loss record at this tournament fell to 3-14.
Dementieva started 2007 by playing an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, the Watson Waters Challenge, where she defeated Nicole Vaidisova in the quarterfinals and lost to Sharapova in the semifinals. Her first official tournament was in Sydney, Australia, where she lost in the second round to Li Na 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 after being up 5-2 in the third set and holding five match points.
At the 2007 Australian Open, Dementieva matched her career best result at this tournament by reaching the fourth round, where she lost to Vaidisova 6-3, 6-3.
Dementieva unsuccessfully attempted to defend her singles title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, losing a semifinal match to Hingis 6-4, 6-3. Dementieva then withdrew from the Open Gaz de France tournament in Paris due to injury.
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva Simply the Best!!!
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