Venus Williams wilted in Qatar’s desert heat on Tuesday as feisty Russian Elena Dementieva staged a remarkable WTA Championships comeback to defeat the title-holder 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2.
Williams had led 6-3, 3-1 before Dementieva recovered to record only her third win in 12 meetings with the great American, and first since 2004.
Dementieva, playing in her ninth season-ender, stunned the seven-time major winner, clinging on even as Williams served for the match at 6-5 in the second set.
The 28-year-old Russian levelled the clash when Williams double-faulted on a fourth set point in the tie-breaker, before sprinting into a commanding 4-0 lead in the decider.
She secured the win with a running, crosscourt backhand after a two-hour, 41-minute marathon in testing, humid conditions.
“I had plenty of opportunities to open a big lead, but I just didn’t get enough balls in the court,” said Williams, who refused to blame the sweltering conditions. “I’m a Florida girl. It gets hot there too.”
Serena Williams overcame Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (6), 7-5 later on Tuesday, improving her chance of ending the year as No. 1 and giving her a share of the lead in the Maroon Group with Dementieva.
Victoria Azarenka made a successful tournament debut by defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-3 to lead the White Group.
The tournament features the top eight players in the world. The top two from each group advance to the semi-finals. Top-ranked Dinara Safina and No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki were to play their first match yesterday.
■DAVIS CUP
AP, WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK
Serena Williams is back on the US Fed Cup team for the first time since 2007.
Surprise US Open quarter-finalist Melanie Oudin is also on the squad announced on Tuesday by the US Tennis Association for the Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 final against host Italy.
Williams leads active women with 11 Grand Slam singles titles and is 4-0 in Fed Cup singles over her career. Her sister Venus is not on the team.
Top-ranked doubles player Liezel Huber and Alexa Glatch round out the squad.
■LYON GRAND PRIX
AP, LYON, FRANCE
Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga served 14 aces and needed two tiebreakers to beat Kevin Kim of the US 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Lyon Grand Prix on Tuesday.
Neither player faced a break point in the first set, but Kim saved two in the second as Tsonga started to get on top. Kim missed his chance to level the match as Tsonga, last year’s Australian Open finalist, rallied from 5-3 down in the second set tiebreaker.
Third-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia also progressed after beating Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 6-3, 6-4.
Ljubicic, looking for his first title this season, won 29 of 33 points on first serve including seven aces. The defeat would have been heavier for Vassallo Arguello if he hadn’t saved 10 of 12 break points.
Seventh-seeded Benjamin Becker of Germany beat Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-2, 6-2, while No. 8 Albert Montanes of Spain topped Fabrice Santoro 6-4, 6-4. Also, David Guez of France beat Rajeev Ram of the US 6-2, 6-4, and Marc Gicquel downed Jerome Haehnel 6-1, 6-4 in an all-French match.
■VIENNA OPEN
AP, VIENNA
Top-seeded Marin Cilic eased past qualifier Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round of the Bank Austria Trophy Vienna Open on Tuesday.
Cilic, ranked 13th, has a slim chance of qualifying for next month’s ATP World Tour Finals, along with second-seeded Radek Stepanek and third-seeded Gael Monfils.
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