| Current Tournament |
Flushing Meadows, New York
August 27-Sep 9
Grand Slam
Singles:
2R: Bammer[19] def Dementieva[14] 6-1 6-2
2R: Dementieva[14] def Cetkovska 6-3 6-2
1R: Dementieva[14] def Cohen-Aloro 6-4 6-3
Doubles:
2R: Dementieva/Pennetta vs Raymond/Stosur[2]
1R: Dementieva/Pennetta def Laine/Wozniacki 6-4 6-1
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| Next Tournament/s |
US Open Aug 27-Sep 9
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| WTA Rankings |
1. Henin, Justine [1]
2. Sharapova, Maria [2]
3. Jankovic, Jelena [3]
4. Kuznetsova, Svetlana [5]
5. Ivanovic, Ana [4]
6. Chakvetadze, Anna [6]
7. Mauresmo, Amelie [7]
8. Petrova, Nadia [9]
9. Williams, Serena [8]
10. Bartoli, Marion[11]
11. Hantuchova, Daniela[10]
12. Schnyder, Patty [12]
13. Dementieva, Elena [15]
14. Williams, Venus[13]
15. Vaidisova, Nicole [14]
16. Safina, Dinara [16]
17. Hingis, Martina [17]
18. Golovin, Tatiana [18]
19. Peer, Shahar[19]
20. Bammer, Sybille [20]
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| Sony Ericsson Race |
1. Henin 3675
2. Jankovic 3475
3. Ivanovic 2707
4. Kuznetsova 2546
5. Sharapova 2340
6. Williams, S. 2141
7. Chakvetadze 2106
8. Williams, V. 1740
9. Petrova 1698
10. Hantuchova 1684
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16. Dementieva 1357
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| Past Tournament |
New Haven, Connecticut
August 20-26
Tier 2
Singles:
QF: Kuznetsova[1] def Dementieva[6] 4-6 6-3 3-0 ret. (nausea)
QF: Dementieva[6] def Bartoli[3] 6-4 6-2
2R: Dementieva[6] def Harkleroad 6-1 7-6(6)
1R: Dementieva[6] def Santangelo 6-2 3-6 6-0
Doubles:
Not entered
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| Friday, June 30, 2006 |
| Muffin and Muffinettes |
| This is a nice articles about Elena written by Mr. Peter Bodo on Tennis World. |
posted by mjgrace22 @ 12:18 PM   |
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| Russian showdown: Elena D. vs Elena L. |
Another interesting match has come to Elena Dementieva's way. This time, it is Elena Likhovtseva who'll try to stop her from reaching the 4th round of Wimbledon for the second straight year. Likhovtseva won their last meeting at the 2005 French Open (where Dementieva held match points) but it is Dementieva who currently leads their head-to-head at 3-2. They've never met on grass though.
Elena Likhovtseva is currently ranked at No. 26 and seeded 25th in this tournament. At the age of 31, it is amazing that the elderly Russian is still in the top 30 and can slug it out in matches. Likhovtseva is a former quarterfinalist her at Wimbledon (2002) and reached the 4th round last year. This year has not been the best for her though as we've seen her drop out of the top 20 and her current win-loss record for the year is 11-14 although the grass has been kinder to her as she reached the quarters in both of her pre-Wimbledon tournaments (Eastbourne and Birmingham).
The results of Likhovtseva's first two matches at Wimbledon shows us how well her game translates on grass. In her first round match, she crushed Stephanie Foretz 6-2 6-0 and then routed Tiantian Sun 6-3 6-3 in the second round. Compared to Dementieva, Likhovtseva had an easier time getting to the third round of Wimbledon.
Likhovtseva is a dangerous player anytime and most especially when her game comes together. They're last meeting at Roland Garros was a nightmare for Dementieva as she lost that match after holding match points. I'm sure that Dementieva would like to take revenge for that loss so this should be an extra motivation for her. Likhovtseva likes to go to the net and she is an extremely good volleyer so Dementieva should try to pass her. Dementieva should also make Likhovtseva run from side to side in the baseline to have an edge in this match. Dementieva's fitness is superb but I hope that her long match against Shaughness and the wrist which needed treatment in that match won't hamper her in her match against Likhovtseva. It would also be nice if she serves really good tomorrow and limit those double faults. Dementieva has to bring her A game to win this match tomorrow as I expect that this won't be a cakewalk.
Davai Elena!
Doubles
Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta will try to eliminate Sybille Bammer and Julia Schruff from the Doubles tournament at Wimbledon today. This would be Dementieva/Pennetta's fourth match on grass together. They had a good run to the semis of Rosmalen last week where they lost to Ivanovic/Kirilenko in 3 sets.
Dementieva and Pennetta should quickly dispatch Bammer/Schruff since they are potentially the better team. Let's hope that they do it quickly and without much drama so they could have a good rest and prepare for their respective 3rd round singles matches tomorrow.
Davai Elena! Vamos Flavia! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:54 AM |
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| Dementieva routs Shaughnessy |
 It took 3 hours for Elena Dementieva to beat former top 15 American Meghann Shaughnessy 5-7 6-3 7-5. This win gives Dementieva a pass to the third round of Wimbledon where she'll face compatriot Elena Likhovtseva.
Dementieva got a break early in the match to lead 2-1 then rushed to a 5-3 lead. Unfortunately, Elena wasn't able to held her serve when she served for the first set which allowed Shaughnessy to come back in the set and take a 6-5 lead over Dementieva. Serving to save the set at that point, Elena gave away the set at love.
The second set looked like Shaughnessy will be taking the match away from Dementieva when she had a 2-0 lead. At that point, Dementieva called for a trainer to check her wrist. Apparently, her wrist has been bothering her so the trainer strapped it up. After that incident, Shaughnessy got a 3-0 lead but Dementieva reeled off 6 straight games to take the second set and level the match.
The third set is all about breaking each other's serve as the couple can't seem to hold their respective service games. At 5-5, Dementieva held her serve to lead in the match 6-5. Shaughnessy tried to save the match (she saved 4 match points) but in the end, Dementieva just played better.
This match was truly dramatic (as most of Elena's matches). Lots of ups and downs for both players and lots of double faults as well. Both players committed 14 DFs each but it was Dementieva who had more winners and less errors. Elena's yips of serving for the set/match is still there and I hope she can do it better next time. This match took a lot out of Elena and she was clearly tested so let's hope that she can recover today and be fresh enough when she faces Elena Likhovtseva in the third round tomorrow.
Great comeback and great win for Elena! Once again, she proved how mentally tough she can be during a tight match. Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:34 AM |
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| Thursday, June 29, 2006 |
| Shaughnessy on Dementieva's way |
Meghann Shaughnessy will try to block Elena Dementieva's way to the 3rd round of Wimbledon today. Their head to-head is tied at 1-1 with Shaughnessy taking the first one back in 1998 and Dementieva winning their last meeting at Tokyo in 2003.
Shaughnessy is a veteran player who is currently ranked at No. 73. In my opinion, Shaughnessy is a much better doubles player than a singles player. Having said that, Shaughnessy is a very good volleyer and she might use this against Elena in their match today. We know though that Elena is a very good passer. Shaughnessy also has a very good first serve and if she could keep her first serves in, she can do some damage to Elena.
The key in this match is for Elena to serve well and try to pass Shaughnessy everytime she comes to the net. Grass is not shaugnessy's favorite surce but neither does Elena. In Elena's match against Mirza, I noticed that she didn't want to come to the net at all. In fact, she only came to the net once. Elena is very decent volleyer so she should try coming to the net more often and finish the points more quicker.
I hope she plays really well tonight and see her progress to the third round. If she plays well enough, she can win pretty easily tonight. There's no reason why she should lose this one so let's hope that the Lena who'll show up tonight is in rhythm.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:54 AM |
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| Dementieva passes tough opening test |
Elena Dementieva received a slight scare last night when Sania Mirza rushed to a 4-1 lead in the opening stage of the first set. The fighter that Lena is, she came back and won the match in straight sets 7-6(5) 7-5.
Elena's match statistics last night wasn't bad at all. She only had 6 DFs (below average) during the entire match and her serve was pretty good. The speed of her serve wasn't slow at all and she was really ripping it.
In the opening stages of the match, Mirza raced to a 4-1 lead then served for the set at 5-2. Unfortunately for Mirza, Lena seemed to have waken up by the time Mirza was serving for the set as Lena won 15 of the next 20 points to level the set at 5-all. The match soon went to a tie-breaker and we know how Elena performs on tie-breakers. Mirza was really sending lethal forehands to Lena's court during the TB but Elena's defense was just superb. Elena took the first set edging Mirza 7-5 in the TB.
The second set was more about breaking serve than holding serve (as most of Lena's matches). Anyway, you can really see that Elena will be winning the match by the time the second set started. She just looked different. And Mirza was obvously disheartened because she lost the first set which she should have won. We saw Elena rip a lot of forehand winners and her errors were also minimized. Although Mirza came back to level the 2nd set at 5-all, I just knew that Elena won't lose this match. Elena broke Sania to lead 6-5 then served for the match. Her only ace in the game came at the perfect moment, that was when she was serving for the match at 6-5 15-0.
I know we must take the positive from this match. Surely, this will give Elena a lot of confidence for her upcoming matches. But what bothered me in last night's match was Elena's troubles in serving out her matches. This was also the case against Michaella Krajicek in Rosmalen. Elena was serving for the match against Mirza at 5-4 but lost her serve at 15. It was just terrible. Was she just nervous? I hope she works on this because she can't afford dropping her serve when serving for the match during bigger matches.
Whoo! What a relief! The first round is over and Lena did good. Best of luck to Lena in the 2nd round.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:28 AM |
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| Monday, June 26, 2006 |
| Dementieva's tough Wimbledon opener |
As the draws were made on Friday afternoon, fans waited to see which first round match ups is a must-see. Elena Dementieva's first rounder is a dangerous floater named Sania Mirza.
Sania Mirza is a young and talented tennis player but her doom is her erratic groundstrokes. The only time Dementieva and Mirza met was on the Indian Wells tournament where Dementieva made a run to the finals. Dementieva dropped the first set but went on to win the match eventually.
Grass actually suits Mirza's game as she relies on her powerful yet erratic groundstrokes. Her serve is far from what we can call a weapon so we must expect a lot of breaks in this match. Her injuries have also hampered her progress this year and her ranking has dropped her to No. 38.
This match mostly depends on how Elena Dementieva will serve. If she serves well, Dementieva will win in straight sets. If not, we might see a three-setter which Dementieva will hopefully win.
The Grand Slams has not been very good on our Elena this year. She lost 1st round at the Australian Open and then 3rd round at Roland Garros. I hope she makes it at least to the second week at Wimbledon. She has never got past the fourth round at SW19. She actually got close last year as she held match points in her fourth round match against Anastasia Myskina but was not able to convert any of them. Anyway, before we think about the second week of Wimbledon, Dementieva must get past Sania Mirza first. If she gets past Mirza, she has a tough road ahead of her. Here are the possible matchups for Dementieva according to the draw:
- 2r: Shaugnessy or Bondarenko
- 3r: Likhovtseva
- 4r: Schiavone or Dechy
- QF: Sharapova
Not the nicest of draws eh? On the top quarter resides Wimbledon defending champion Venus Williams, 2005 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Anastasia Myskina and 2005 semifinalist Amelie Mauresmo.
I really feel that Elena has to make a good run here at Wimbledon and prove herself to many. Most people are actually saying that Mirza will upset Elena so I hope that Elena proves them all wrong.
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:46 AM |
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| Dementieva fumes after loss |
In a disappointing turn of events last Friday, Elena Dementieva lost to Michaella Krajicek 1-6 6-7(5) 4-6 in their semifinal match. Their head-to-head now stands at 1-1.
Dementieva had a match point in the second set but could not convert it to a win. Krajicek fought back and brought 2nd set to tie-break and Dementieva lost her 4-1 and 5-2 lead so Krajicek was able to level the match. The third set was very unusual (well, for Elena at least) as both player held serve until 4-4. Krajicek held serve for 5-4 then broke Elena to win the match.
Unfortunately, this match has not been without controversies. Apparently, Elena accused the Dutch match officials on favoring local favorite Michaella Krajicek during a number of close line calls.
"I understand she was playing at home and the crowd want her to be in the final
and it's good for the tournament but, you know, it must be fair play."
Those who follow Dementieva would know how appreciative she is of her opponent after a loss and we rarely see her lose temper after a match. I may be a little bias here since I'm a big fan, but I truly think that her accusations has a basis. Anyway, a loss is a loss and we cannot change that anymore. Dementieva's sight should now be directed to Wimbledon.
Let's go Elena! Davai! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:24 AM |
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| Friday, June 23, 2006 |
| Dementieva in Ordina Semis |
"Playing on grass is a totally different situation. I usually stay on the
baseline, but if you want to be a Wimbledon champion, you need to go to the net.
That's something I have to work on. Like today, I didn't have any chances to
come to the net and I had a tough time in the match."
Elena Dementieva had to save 2 set points in the first set of her quarterfinal match against Ana Ivanovic yesterday to take the first set tie-breaker. Dementieva prevailed winning in straight sets 7-6(6) 6-4. At 6-4 during the tie-breaker, Ivanovic had 2 set points but sqandered them both as she made a couple of unforced errors. Dementieva took advantage to steal the first set from Ivanovic.
The second set was simply all about Dementieva. After losing her serve on the first game of this set, Elena came firing on all cylinders to lead 5-2. Serving for the match at 5-3, Dementieva couldn't hold her serve and made a double-fault at breakpoint. Ivanovic then saw a ray of hope when Dementieva double-faulted at breakpoint to come back at 5-4. Ivanovic was trying to save the match but Dementieva was too much for her. Dementieva took the match by breaking Ivanovic.
Elena Dementieva will meet home favorite Michaella Krajicek for the second time this year. Dementieva thrashed Krajicek with a 6-0 6-1 win in the hardcourts of Miami. But Dementieva should not underestimate Krajicek as she is a very talented young player and loves the grass. I'm sure Krajicek wants to impress her countrymen by humiliating the top seed of the tournament in their semis match. But Dementieva's experience and powerful strokes should be enough to take her to the finals of this tournament.
It was nice to hear Dementieva say that she wants to go to the net more often. This just proves that she really wants to win Wimbledon. So I wish her the best during the whole fortnight of Wimbledon. Wouldn't it be nice if she could take her first Grand Slam on the surface that she loves the least? I bet it would be really sweet.
Davai Elena!
Doubles
For the second time yesterday, Dementieva had to face Ivanovic on the tennis court. Unfortunately, fortunes were reversed during their doubles match as Ivanovic and Maria Kirilenko spoiled the party for Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta by defeating them 6-3 2-6 6-2. |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:47 AM |
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| Thursday, June 22, 2006 |
| Dementieva seeded 8th in Wimbledon |
The Wimbledon has released the seeding for the Championships which will start this coming Monday. Elena Dementieva was seeded 8th. The following lists the top seeds (number enclosed in brackets is the player's current ranking):
- Amelie Mauresmo [1]
- Kim Clijsters [2]
- Justine Henin-Hardenne [3]
- Maria Sharapova [4]
- Nadia Petrova [5]
- Svetlana Kuznetsova [7]
- Venus Williams [12]
- Elena Dementieva [8]
- Patty Schnyder [10]
- Anastasia Myskina [11]
- Nicole Vaidisova [13]
- Francesca Schiavone [14]
- Martina Hingis [15]
- Anna Lena Groenefeld [16]
- Dinara Safina [17]
- Daniela Hantuchova [18]
Davai Elena! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:21 AM |
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| Dementieva sets QF date with Ivanovic |
Ordina Open top seed Elena Dementieva received a scare on her first match in grass when Elena Vesnina stretched the match to 3 sets but Dementieva triumphed 6-1 4-6 6-4. Dementieva will face 5th seed Ana Ivanovic in the QF.
"Tomorrow it will be very important for me to hold my serve,"
Dementieva said. "It's all about holding serve. If you can hold serve, it's
going to be a tie-breaker match." We all know that Ivanovic has a very good serve so as Elena mentioned in her post-match interview, holding her serve is the key. And if the match comes to a tie-breaker, well, we know what Elena's capable of during tie-breakers. This year, Elena has been in 4 tie-breakers and has never lost any.
Ivanovic and Dementieva's only career meeting was earlier this year at the quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open. Dementieva proved to be tougher and better as she won the match 2-6 6-4 6-2 despite having 14 double faults. This match will be their first meeting on grass.
Expect that this quarterfinal match will be tough. If Elena serves well, Ivanovic will surely be in big trouble. What worries me is the fact that Dementieva will have an early quarterfinal schedule after finishing late last night with their doubles match. I hope Elena has a lot of energy for today's match.
Davai Elena!
Doubles
Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta defeated Jelena Jankovic and Tina Krizan 6-1 4-6 6-1 to reach the semis of the draw. They will battle against Ana Ivanovic and Maria Kirilenko for a place in the finals. I'm sure that fans will be delighted to see these 2 pairs play tomorrow.
Davai Elena and Flavia! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:51 AM |
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| Tuesday, June 20, 2006 |
| Elena D. to face Elena V. in Ordina |
Elena Dementieva will not get her revenge on her Aussie Open loss against Julia Schruff since Schruff lost to 61st ranked Russian Elena Vesnina. Vesnina cruised on their match 6-2 6-3 and will now face top-seed Elena Dementieva in the second round. This will be the first career meeting between Dementieva and Vesnina.
Vesnina's most notable performance to date was reaching the 4th round of the Australian Open on her Grand Slam main draw debut earlier this year where she lost to Nadia Petrova. Vesnina's play is mostly on the baseline so Dementieva should have no problem hanging on to baseline rallies with her. I have the impression though that Vesnina loves playing against the top players and does a good job playing them. Even though she loses her matches against the top players, she works hard to make it difficult for the other player to win the match. Vesnina is very talented but her game is still very erratic. Having said this about Vesnina, Dementieva should not take this match for granted and by all means bring her A game in their second round match. It would be nice if she can keep her DFs minimal and hold her service games. As we are now on the grass season, breaking the opponent's serve will be a much tougher job.
Vesnina may be talented and good but she surely lacks experience. Dementieva in straight sets.
Davai Elena!
Doubles
Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta will face Na Li and Tiantian Sun today. I think it's really great that Elena will have a doubles match today before her first singles match tomorrow. This way, she gets a match play under her belt and would get her more used to the grass. Anyway, Dementieva and Pennetta should take this one.
Davai Elena and Flavia! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 8:49 AM |
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| Monday, June 19, 2006 |
| Ordina Open Preview |
Elena Dementieva's grass courts season kicks off this week at the Ordina Open held in s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Dementieva is the top-seed and the lone top 15 player entered in the tournament. Other seeds in order are Dinara Safina, Flavia Pennetta and Maria Kirilenko.
As the top seed, Elena received a first round bye and will face either Julia Schruff or Elena Vesnina in the second round. Either way, Elena must bring her high-level tennis since both opponents are tricky. I personally would like Elena to face Schruff on the 2nd round and avenge her Aussie Open lost to Schruff last January. If everything falls into place, Elena will face Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals. Dementieva has recently defeated Ivanovic on the hardcourts of Indian Wells last March. But Ivanovic is no pushover so again, Elena has to prepare well and do her best to get pass through Ivanovic. Dementieva would possibly have a showdown semis against her doubles partner, Flavia Pennetta. Ironically, the two has never faced against each other on the singles court. I hope everything bodes well for the two so we can see their semifinal showdown and first meeting ever in arguably their least favorite surface. Possible finalists from the bottom half are second seed Safina, Maria Kirilenko and Gisela Dulko. I'd have to say that compared to the bottom half, the top half is twice tougher.
I just have to say that Elena should win this tournament. Even though Safina had a great clay court season, grass is very different from clay and we'll see how everyone will cope with it. If she wins this tournament, she will have a chance to move up the rankings as she only has a point to defend. I hope she wins this one and make a good and decent run at Wimbledon. So far, Elena has been a disappointment in this year's Grand Slams so I hope that she gets it right at the second half of the season.
Davai Elena! We all know you can do it!
Doubles
Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta are seeded No. 2 in the Doubles tournament of the Ordina Open. They are in the bottom half of the draw and ahead of them is a tough first round against the Chinese duo of Na Li and Tiantian Sun. Although the Chinese duo is formidable, they are also very beatable if Lena and Flavia brings it on. So if they pass through the Chinese, the second round is much more manageable as they will face either Ani/Benesova or Jankovic/Krizan. In the semis, they will face either Daniilidou/Garriguez[3] or Ivanovic/Kirilenko. Elena/Flavia are 1-1 against Daniilidou/Garriguez this year although their lost is due to a withdrawal. I'm sure fans would like it more if Elena/Flavia meets with Ivanovic/Kirilenko in the semis. On the top half resides the top seeds Zi Yan/Jie Zheng. Elena/Flavia have met the top seeds twice this year and unfortunately, lost both of the affairs quite badly.
Anyway, this draw is very winnable so it'll be up to them. Davai Lena and Flavia! |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 9:34 AM |
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| Thursday, June 15, 2006 |
| Mid-season Review |
Two Grand Slams are over and there's only 2 more to go.
To see how Elena Dementieva fared during the first half of the season, click here.
Davai Elena! Looking forward to the grass season and to the US Open Series. |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 11:47 AM |
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| Monday, June 05, 2006 |
| Elena badly needs a coach |
Elena Dementieva lost to Shahar Peer 6-4 7-5 in third round action at Roland Garros on Saturday after squandering 4-1 leads in both sets. I just don't know what to make of this match, she served below average double faults (only 5) during the match but lost it. Oh, these are the times when a real coach can help her.
On to the grass courts now, let's see how Elena will fare there. |
| posted by mjgrace22 @ 11:10 AM |
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| About Me |
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Name: mjgrace22
Home: Philippines
About Me: Obviously, I'm a big fan of tennis. My favorite female tennis player is Elena Dementieva. I'm just a simple person with simple dreams.
See my complete profile
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