Elena Dementieva overcame her own nerves and Jelena Jankovic's gambling style for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory in the JPMorgan Chase Open final on Sunday.
Dementieva smacked a cross-court forehand winner on her third championship point of the two-and-a-half hour match, then jumped and squealed with delight at winning her second title this year and sixth of her eight-year pro career.
"I feel like it's just starting for me. I'm just getting to my best game," she said. "I just need one more step. I feel young enough. It just takes longer for me."
PHOTO: EPA
Dementieva's nerves were apparent a game earlier, when she sidearmed some serves in and got broken at 5-4 after squandering two match points. She had been a three-time semi-finalist here.
"Finally, a big win," she said. "I hope I'm becoming a more consistent player."
Serving out the match, Jankovic used the new electronic line-calling system to challenge an in call trailing 15-30 -- a gutsy move because if she had been wrong, she would have faced triple match point.
She was right, the ball was out, but her subsequent backhand error set up Dementieva's third and final match point.
"Sometimes she was hitting the ball like she doesn't care. She was hitting hard and everything was in. It was hard to close this match," Dementieva said. "She's very unpredictable. Sometimes she goes for the winner and she has an incredible backhand down the line."
Dementieva, a 24-year-old who was the 2004 French and US Open runner-up, raced to a 5-0 lead in the third set. But Jankovic -- helped by some well-placed volleys -- reeled off four consecutive games to get back in the match after receiving treatment for heat-related symptoms.
"When I was coming back, I made so many good volleys and I said, `Where were those volleys in the beginning?'" she said.
Both players cooled down with ice packs during changeovers. In between sets, Dementieva left the court to change her clothes while Jankovic stayed in the heat and amused herself by watching the stadium's "kiss cam."
"It was hot and we had some long points," Jankovic said. "In the beginning of the third set, I felt really tired and slow."
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
RSS