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bausch & lomb classic Amelia Island ปี 2003
แชมป์รายการแรกในชีวิต
ข่าวจาก AP
The tempestuous Russian blonde is one victory away from her first title.
A familiar story? Sure. Only this time, it has nothing to do with Anna Kournikova.
Elena Dementieva ended top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne's seven-match winning streak Saturday with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
victory in the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships.
After her first win in four tries against Henin-Hardenne, the 10th-seeded
Dementieva moved into the fifth final of her five-year pro career, including the 2000 Olympics.
In the final Sunday, she will play second-seeded Lindsay Davenport,
who defeated Jennifer Capriati 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
"I'll go walking on the beach tonight - nothing really different," Dementieva said
when asked how she would prepare for the big match.
The 21-year-old from Moscow says she's "not enemies, not friends" with Kournikova,
who is also without a title but has earned a greater measure of fame off the court.
"I'm not criticizing her," Dementieva said. "She's a different person. All I can do is speak for myself.
I just concentrate on tennis, and trying to be a good sportsman for Russia."
Davenport, 6-2 lifetime against Dementieva, came into the semifinals having lost just five games in three matches in the tournament.
Her win over Capriati was, understandably, more difficult, but she is still playing
some of her best tennis since coming back from knee surgery that sidelined
her through the first half of 2002.
"I've never seen her play this well before," Capriati said.
Capriati was supposed to have an edge because she's an expert on clay and Davenport is not.
But it was Davenport who dictated in this match,
and Capriati who had trouble setting up to hit solid groundstrokes.
"I'm playing at a really high level," said Davenport,
who won here in 1997.
"It's impossible to compare where I am to where I was two years ago or five years ago, but I feel I'm playing well."
Like Davenport, Dementieva also had it tougher Saturday
than in the quarterfinals, when she won an amazingly easy 6-0, 6-1 match over fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova.
At some points, the Russian was brilliant,
setting the pace with strong groundstrokes and picking on Henin-Hardenne's
backhand, which was unusually errant on the green clay. At others,
Dementieva was timid and tense. She won the last two sets despite puffing in
many of her first serves at speeds right around 70 mph.
"On one side of the court, the sun was in my eyes," she said. "I was just trying to get the ball in."
Clearly nervous in trying to make her first final since a Dutch grass-court event in June,
Dementieva leaned down to smell the flowers stationed by the scoreboard
after losing one particularly tough point. Most of the time,
however, she had trouble enjoying herself - squealing when she missed
easy shots and loudly berating herself in Russian when she lost tough points.
It was somewhat entertaining, somewhat painful to watch - especially at the end,
when Dementieva squandered a 4-1 lead in the third set. Henin-Hardenne,
a finalist here last year, had match point at 5-4 on Dementieva's serve,
but missed a backhand to let the Russian back in.
"She started playing well when she got 4-1 down," Dementieva said.
"I just said to myself, 'Don't give up. Try to play. Try not to think about the score.'"
Dementieva followed with a backhand winner,
then Henin-Hardenne gave up the game when she netted an easy forehand on a 66 mph second serve.
Trailing 6-5 on Dementieva's serve, Henin-Hardenne lost a pair of break points,
then hit two easy forehands into the net to end the match. She made 32 unforced errors in the third set.
Henin-Hardenne failed in her quest for a second straight title. Last week,
she beat Serena Williams to win the Family Circle Cup.
"It's disappointing to lose in this situation," Henin-Hardenne said.
"But that's tennis. I'm still learning a lot of things. I've got to use these lessons for the next time."
| จากคุณ |
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applebie 
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| เขียนเมื่อ |
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30 ต.ค. 53 18:35:45
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[[DeDeeClub]] ELENA DEMENTIEVA Thailand Fanclub@Pantip 30/10/10 Thank you for last match and goodbye Dementieva
