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Yelena Vyacheslavovna Dementyeva (Russian: Елена Вячеславовна Дементьева; born October 15, 1981), better known as Elena Dementieva, is a professional tennis player from Russia.
Dementieva was born in Moscow, Russia. She played and won her first international tournament, Les Petits Aces, in France at the age of 13. In 1997, she entered the WTA top 500. She turned professional in 1998 and went on to enter the top 100 in 1999. In 1999, she represented Russia in Fed Cup final against USA scoring Russia's only point. 1999 was also the year in which she played her first Grand Slam main draws qualifying for Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon and getting a direct entry into the US Open. She managed to reach the 2nd round at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, made a first round exit at Wimbledon and managed to reach the 3rd round of the US Open.
In 2000, she entered the top 20 by winning more than 40 singles matches for second straight year earning over US $600,000. She reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open losing to Lindsay Davenport becoming the first woman representing Russia to reach a US Open semifinal. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney, she won the silver medal losing to Venus Williams in the final. She was named the 2000 WTA tour Most Improved Player. 2001 was the second straight year in which she finished in the WTA top 20. During the year she became the no. 1 Russian tennis player, a position held by Anna Kournikova since December 1997. In 2003, she played the most tournaments among the top 10 players (27) and won nearly US $900,000. At Amelia Island, she won her first WTA tour title in her 92nd tour event, defeating 8th seeded Amanda Coetzer, 4th seeded Daniela Hantuchova, world no. 1 Justin Henin and world no. 2 Lindsay Davenport becoming the lowest seed (10th) to win the tournament in its 24-year history. She won back-to-back titles in Bali and Shanghai defeating Chanda Rubin in the final in both events. She finished 2003 in the top 10.
In 2004, Dementieva had a breakthrough year. She opened the season in January at Sydney as world no. 8 and the 6th seed losing the quarterfinal to world no. 5 Lindsay Davenport. Her ranking remained the same at the Australian Open where she was defeated by world no. 79 Jankovic. In February, she was forced to withdraw from Antwerp prior to start of play due to a right shoulder strain. She also withdrew from Indian Wells in March. At Miami, seeded 5th with a first round bye, she eliminated former world no. 1 Venus Williams who was seeded 2nd in the semifinal to face another former world no. 1 top seed two-time defending and eventual champion Serena Williams. On April 5, she reached her highest singles ranking as 6th in the world. Along with no. 5 Myskina and no. 9 Nadia Petrova, it was the first time ever that 3 Russians appeared in the WTA top 10 simultaneously. In May, at Roland Garros, seeded 9th, she reached her first Grand Slam final defeating former world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport in straight sets on the way. She lost to compatriot 6th seeded Anastasia Myskina in an unprecedented all-Russian Grand Slam final. The match was witnessed by former Russian president Boris Yeltsin. It was the first time in the Open Era that three Russian women (Dementieva, Myskina and Sharapova) advanced to a Grand Slam quarterfinal and when she and Myskina reached the semifinals, it was the first time in the Open Era that two Russian women advanced to a Grand Slam semifinal. Incidentally, the last Russian woman Grand Slam finalist was Dementieva's coach, Morozova at 1974 Roland Garros and Wimbledon. At Wimbledon, ranked and seeded no. 6, she was upset in the first round by world no. 129 Kleinova in 3 sets. Later that year, at the US Open, she reached her second grand slam final, defeating No. 8 seed Jennifer Capriati and No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo on the way. 19 year old countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Dementieva in straight sets in the final, to become the third consecutive Russian woman first-time grand slam winner. It was only the second time two Russian women played a grand slam singles final, the first time being earlier in 2004 at the French Open, where Dementieva lost to Myskina.
External link
- WTA Tour Profile (http://www.wtatour.com/players/playerprofiles/PlayerBio.asp?PlayerID=40289)
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