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Rising
Russian star Elena Dementieva blasted her way into the semi-finals of the
Watson's Water Challenge, ousting American Lisa Raymond who heaped praise on
the 19-year-old Muscovite at Victoria Park last night. The second seeded Dementieva
showed why she is considered one of the brightest prospects on the women's
circuit with a display that proved too much for the 27-year-old Raymond who
was swept aside in just 57 minutes. The night's other singles
match ended in disappointment for Chanda Rubin and the spectators when the
American pulled out of her match with Jelena Dokic with an injured left knee
after winning the first set. Raymond had lost to
Dementieva twice before in head-to-head clashes, and the Russian, who won a
silver medal at last summer's Olympics in Sydney, was determined to keep her
winning record intact and get 2001 off to a good start. Dementieva will meet Dokic
in the semi-finals. From the start, it was obvious Dementieva, ranked 12th in
the world, was just a touch too strong as she cracked winning forehands
almost at will and was able to conjure up breathtaking shots from seemingly
impossible angles. ``She's a great player and
she's still young. She's seems to be getting better and better. How far she
goes is up to her,'' said Raymond, ranked 30th in the WTA tour, of
Dementieva. ``She has a big return and
it was difficult to put pressure on her serve. Every time I had a break
point, she would win a big point. She played the big points better. Yes, it
was a little frustrating,'' she said. Dementieva said she was glad
to get her opening match out of the way in what was her first game since
losing to Venus Williams in the gold medal playoff at the Sydney Games in
October. ``I had problems with my
wrist but it wasn't too bad. I'm glad to win because it was my first match in
a long time.'' Dementieva didn't seem to
mind fellow Russian Anna Kournikova was grabbing all the attention. ``I don't
really care if I am compared with Anna. I don't really think that I can be
better than her in terms of my tennis. I don't really have a target for this
year.'' Dementieva then added with
hint of modesty: ``I don't think I can end the year in the top five.'' Raymond said playing under
floodlights in her first match of the year was difficult, but said it was
probably hard for everyone. ``It was hard to see but it
affected all of us. We haven't played in a long time and we haven't gotten
used to the cool conditions as well,'' said Raymond. Dokic was disappointed
that Rubin was unable to complete the match. ``It was unfortunate that we
didn't finish it,'' said the Australian. ``Rubin was attacking all the time
and I found it hard to get into any sort of rhythm at first. I haven't played
in a couple of months. But towards the end of the first set and the beginning
of the second, I got my rhythm going,'' she added. Rubin, ranked 13th in the
world, won the first set 6-3 but was trailing in the second set 4-1 before
she decided to call it quits. She calmly walked to the net to shake hands
with a surprised Dokic, explaining that she couldn't go on. Rubin's coach, Benny Sims,
said her knee problem had flared up again after she was forced to pull out of
the season-ending Chase Championships in November. ``She's disappointed
because she likes to play. Chanda had not quit more than two matches since
she was 12. I don't think she played too soon after her injury. She was still
in rehab [undergoing physiotherapy] and her specialists were doing a fine job
on her. She will be back,'' said Sims. |