Russia's Dinara Safina hoists her trophy after her victory against compatriot Elena Dementieva in the final of the German Open in Berlin, May 11, 2008. Safina battled back from a set down to beat Elena Dementieva 2-1 in an all-Russian final.(Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
Dinara Safina upset her third top-10 player at the German Open yesterday and won the title by beating ninth-ranked Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The 17th-ranked Safina also beat No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 8 Serena Williams at the claycourt event in Berlin.
In Berlin, the 22-year-old Safina overcame a slow start and dropped the first set - just like in her two other upsets - before her shots began to find the lines.
Russia's Safina reacts during the final against her compatriot Dementieva at the 'German Open' tennis tournament in Berlin, May 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
The Russian won 127,000 euros (US$197,000) for the win yesterday, which was Mother's Day.
"My mother can buy anything she wants," said Safina, whose mother was at the event. "She can walk into any store and I will pay for it."
Safina claimed her sixth title and first this year at the French Open warm-up tournament.
Safina, the sister of two-time grand slam winner Marat Safin, has now beaten top-10 players 11 times.
She had been victorious both times the Russian pair had met on clay while Dementieva, 26, had won the other two of their previous four meetings.
Russia's Elena Dementieva returns a ball during the final against her compatriot Dinara Safina at the 'German Open' tennis tournament in Berlin, May 11, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Dementieva beat world No. 2 Ana Ivanovic in straight sets in their semifinal on Saturday and will climb to seventh in the world from ninth when the rankings are updated today.
A former top-10 player, Safina is projected to rise to No. 14 from 17.
In Rome, Wawrinka had the better of the early exchanges and took the first set after breaking Djokovic in the fifth game.
The Serb hung in during a spell on the back foot and pulled himself back into contention with a break in the middle of the second set.
He then took Wawrinka's serve again at the start and end of the final set to secure the title.
In Rome, Novak Djokovic won the 10th title of his career yesterday, rallying to beat unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rome Masters.
The third-ranked Djokovic won the Australian Open in January for his first grand slam title, then captured the Masters Series event in Indian Wells, California, in March.
The third victory of 2008 will move Djokovic within 310 points of second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.
On Saturday, Djokovic had sounded the alarm over the packed ATP calendar after the withdrawal of two opponents helped him reach the final.
Czech Radek Stepanek pulled out of his semifinal with Djokovic on Saturday less than 24 hours after Spaniard Nicolas Almagro's retirement had put the Australian Open champion into the last four. Stepanek, who had upset world No. 1 Roger Federer on Friday, was 0-6, 0-1 down.
"This is another showing that the season is really tough. The players are not getting injured for nothing," Djokovic told a news conference.
Top American Andy Roddick also retired early in the other semifinal against Wawrinka with a back injury. Roddick was 0-3 down in the first set.
Furthermore, Almagro had been awarded a walkover to the quarterfinals after Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, last year's runner-up, pulled out of their third-round match with a leg injury.
"The players at the top and the ones who are playing a lot of matches are not happy with the schedule this year," Djokovic said.
Djokovic's comments echoed those of Nadal, who called the calendar "impossible" last Wednesday after playing with a foot problem during his shock second round defeat by fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily May 12, 2008)
