Dementieva captures title in Paris

They had both lost three set finals in Paris before so when this year's went to the decider, someone would avenge and someone would just miss out again. And it was Elena Dementieva who got the good ending, beating Lucie Safarova for the Open GDF SUEZ title, 67(5) 61 64.

Both had survived marathons the day before in the semifinals, Dementieva edging Melanie Oudin, 46 63 63, and Safarova upsetting No.2 seed Flavia Pennetta, 46 63 64. So when they took the court on Sunday the top quality tennis they produced was even more impressive, with the underdog winning the last four points of the first set tie-break but Dementieva cruising through the second set in 27 minutes and getting the decisive break of the match in the seventh game of the decider. It was the fourth straight year the Open GDF SUEZ final went to three sets.

"It was very emotional. I always wanted to win in Paris," Dementieva said. "This tournament is very special for me and I was coming here every year trying to win this title. I was pretty close a couple of times. I always feel great support when I play in Paris, that's why I feel very special here. Being the No.1 seed didn't make it any easier to win, because all the girls were playing very well against me. They're young and have nothing to lose. All of my matches were quite difficult to win, so it feels great to do it."

Dementieva captured her 16th Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title, now 16-14 in career finals. She has now won two of the three tournaments she has played so far this year, also winning the Premier-level title in Sydney in January. She lost second round at the Australian Open to an unranked Justine Henin.

Safarova is now 4-4 in career finals, 0-2 at Premier-level tournaments (she was a runner-up here in 2007 to another Russian, Nadia Petrova).

"Of course I'm sad to lose because it's a final and you want to have the trophy, but I'm happy with my tennis here this week," Safarova said. "I want to continue to play this level in future tournaments, trying to beat these top players and trying to win these matches. I hope this week will help me.


Sunday, February 14, 2010

Singles - Final
(1) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 67(5) 61 64