Ten thoughts on the ATP Tour World Finals, culminating Sunday with Roger Federer's convincing 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Rafael Nadal ...
What do you make of Roger Federer losing yet another match after holding multiple match points? I'm sure questions about his mental toughness that have plagued him on and off throughout his career will be in full force again. --Aidan Encarnacion, Fremont, Calif.
I don't expect this question to be published at all, for I know I am not alone moved by Elena Dementieva's retirement. It is just that the first venue I could think of for channeling my dejection is your mailbag, which I had followed for years more than following Dementieva's career. Much as I like her both as a player and as a person, I'm afraid to be her fan because I'm afraid of being frustrated. But with that retirement announced in Doha, I couldn't help crying and asking why. It is difficult to accept and, indeed, far more frustrating. Can you name another female tennis player who has not won a Grand Slam, and not as marketable as Kournikova and Sharapova, and still can be considered a grand player? --Prexus Empacis, Cebu, Philippines
1. Courier a great hire for USTA: In another victory for common sense, the USTA made a sound hiring decision, tapping Jim Courier to succeed Pat McEnroe as the Davis Cup captain. First, a clink of the glasses for McEnroe, one of the sport's good guys, who acquitted himself well over the past decade, leading the U.S. to a title and deftly avoiding the many political landmines. In Courier, the team gets a straight shooter with instant credibility -- he has four times as many Grand Slam singles titles as all eligible U.S. players combined -- and good rapport with the players. (That he is already agitating for a Davis Cup format change is a bonus.)
Reigning Olympic champion and world number nine Elena Dementieva announced her retirement from tennis after being knocked out of the WTA Championships in Doha.
SI.com caught up with Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim about Elena Dementieva's sudden retirement following Friday's season-ending loss to Francesca Schiavone at the WTA Championships in Qatar.
Defending champion Kim Clijsters marched into the third round of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows as Hurricane Earl threatened to disrupt play on Friday.
Elena Dementieva, the women's world number five from Russia, has been forced to withdraw from Wimbledon because of a calf injury.
World No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska has claimed the first semifinal place at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after defeating Elena Dementieva on Wednesday.
Defending champion Venus Williams cruised into the last 16 of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday, but 2008 winner Elena Dementieva was forced to retire in her second-round tie.
Robin Soderling shrugged off his poor form this season to win the ATP tournament in Rotterdam as final opponent Mikhail Youzhny was forced to retire hurt on Sunday.
Were you surprised at the Elena Dementieva-Justine Henin result? Henin has dominated Dementieva in past meetings (nine wins in 11 matches), but they last played in 2007 and Dementieva has been performing pretty well of late. What does this say about Henin's chances moving forward? --Stephen Males, Devonshire, Bermuda
Justine Henin booked her place in the third round of the Australian Open after she claimed a 7-5 7-6 (8-6) victory over fifth seed Elena Dementieva in Melbourne on Wednesday.
World No. 1 Serena Williams' preparations for her Australian Open title defense suffered a late blip when she was beaten in the final of the Sydney International by Elena Dementieva on Friday.
Elena Dementieva remained on course to defend her Sydney International title with a convincing 6-2 6-3 win over world number two Dinara Safina in an all-Russian quarterfinal.
Defending champion Venus Williams suffered an opening round-robin defeat to Russia's Elena Dementieva on the first day of the WTA Championships in Doha on Tuesday.
Olympic champion Elena Dementieva became the latest seeded casualty at the Pan Pacific Open, going down 6-2 6-7 6-1 to Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine in the second round in Tokyo.
Grades for the 2009 U.S. Open after six days:
A 'bag before the big dance (and we don't mean this).
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva defeated fellow-Russian Maria Sharapova in straight sets on Sunday to claim the WTA Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Second seed Serena Williams stormed into the semifinals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a straight sets victory over Czech qualifier Lucie Safarova.
Top seed Serena Williams has crashed out of the Bank of the West Classic, but her older sister Venus reached the semifinals after thrashing Maria Sharapova.
This is our last "crumpet" for Wimbledon 2009. Time to do magazine work (though I'll continue periodic tweeting and podcasting). If you'd like, you could read this tomorrow; think of it as tape-delay. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. We'll be back Sunday with a Wimbledon wrap-up!
Serena Williams fought back from the brink of defeat to stay on course for her third Wimbledon title with victory over Elena Dementieva in the longest women's semi-final in history.
Former world number one Ana Ivanovic was sent crashing from the AEGON International at Eastbourne after being beaten in three sets by seventh seed Nadia Petrova.
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva followed third-ranked Venus Williams in departing the French Open at the third-round stage after being upset by Samantha Stosur on Saturday.
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva avoided an embarrassing early exit when comeback queen Jelena Dokic's French Open hopes were ended by a back injury on Thursday.
World number one Dinara Safina and fellow-Russian Elena Dementieva are through to the second round of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, although they suffered varying fortunes on Tuesday.
Top seed Elena Dementieva stayed on course to claim the Family Circle Cup in Charleston as her Slovakian opponent Dominika Cibulkova was forced to pull out of their quarterfinal match through injury.
The women's draw at the Indian Wells Masters event has been thrown wide open after second seed Jelena Jankovic and third-seeded Elena Dementieva were both beaten on Saturday.
World number one Serena Williams pulled out of the WTA tournament in Paris with a knee injury but a battling performance from Amelie Mauresmo in the second semifinal sent the French crowd home more than satisfied.
Top three seeds Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva are through to the last four of the Paris Indoor tournament after getting past French oppenents in their quarterfinals on Friday.
Serena Williams booked a semifinal clash with Russian Elena Dementieva at the Australian Open after officials took the heat out of her 5-7 7-5 6-1 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova by closing the Rod Laver Arena roof.
Elena Dementieva beat Dinara Safina 6-3 2-6 6-1 in an all-Russian final in Sydney to win her second straight WTA Tour title.
Top seed Serena Williams was humbled in straight sets by Russian Elena Dementieva in the semifinals of the Medibank International tournament in Sydney -- reports the event's official Web site.
Serena Williams had to save three match points before beating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-7 6-3 7-6 in a late-night thriller at the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Venus Williams will play Vera Zvonareva of Russia for the title at the WTA Tour's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships after both came through testing three-set semifinals on Saturday.
Serena Williams' hopes of ending the year on a high note are over after she was forced to withdraw from the season-ending Sony Ericsson tournament in Doha with a stomach muscle problem.
World number one Jelena Jankovic will face defending champion Elena Dementieva in the Kremlin Cup semifinals after both players had to fight hard to overcome their unseeded opponents on Friday.
Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva of Russia swept aside France's Alize Cornet 6-0 6-3 on Thursday to reach the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals in Tokyo.
I heard you talking on television about Venus and Serena playing each other so early in the tournament. You stated that the draws could not be rigged. My question is, Why not? Simply putting them on other sides of the draw would not give either an unfair advantage. It would just mean they wouldn't meet until the final, which would be better for the whole sport. -- Monty, Toronto
NEW YORK -- Still awash in the afterglow of her Olympics win in Beijing, Elena Dementieva soaked in the magnitude of her golden moment as she flew back to her native Russia two weeks ago. Upon landing at Sheremetyevo Airport in a Moscow suburb, she was greeted by fans waving signs, flowers and flags.
Rafael Nadal will become No. 1 in the rankings Monday, and he is No. 1 at the Olympics.
Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva will contest an all-Russian final in the Olympic tennis tournament in Beijing.
For Wertheim's audio roundup of today's matches, click here or scroll down below.
China's Zheng Jie and Russian Elena Dementieva stand in the way of another all--Williams women's singles final at Wimbledon on Saturday.
Holder Venus Williams moved into the Wimbledon semifinals on Tuesday when she beat Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4 6-3, firing family ambitions of a third title showdown against sister Serena.
Dinara Safina came back from the brink in her French Open quarterfinal against Elena Dementieva, to reach the last four of a grand slam for the first time.
Top seed Nikolay Davydenko clinched the Poertschach claycourt title for the third time on Saturday beating Argentina's Juan Monaco 6-2 2-6 6-2 in the final.
Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic booked a semifinal place at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne after Russian Elena Dementieva retired while trailing in the second set of their quarterfinal clash.
Unseeded Elena Dementieva came through a star-studded field to lift the Dubai Open title with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 defeat of Russian compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, the second seed and former US Open champion.
Svetlana Kuznetsova improved her chances of reaching the number one spot later this year by reaching her second final of 2008 in Dubai.
A certain Justine Henin has quietly established herself as the player to beat in the women's circuit by playing Federesque tennis. Her tempestuous personal affairs are behind her and it looks like what we saw of her this year was only the beginning. Can you put on some earplugs to dull the noise and give her some love?
Elena Dementieva shrugged off the loss of the opening set to outplay Serena Williams to claim the Kremlin Cup title in Moscow for the first time on Sunday.
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva set up an all-Russian semifinal at the WTA event in New Haven, a repeat of their 2004 U.S. Open final, won by Kuznetsova.
World No.1 Maria Sharapova retired in the second set of her Pan Pacific Open semifinal against Serbia's Ana Ivanovic because of a hamstring injury.
World number one Amelie Mauresmo has been forced to withdraw from the Zurich Open with a right shoulder injury and might not be fit to defend her title at the WTA Championships next month.
Top seed Amelie Mauresmo joined Russian trio Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze in the Kremlin Cup quarter-finals on Thursday.
Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanksa caused her second big shock in as many days when she defeated top seed Elena Dementieva of Russia 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Luxembourg Championship on Friday.
Jelena Jankovic exploited Elena Dementieva's weak serve to upset the fourth seed 6-2 6-1 and advance to her first grand slam semifinals at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
Former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has put out fellow-Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3 3-6 6-2 to reach the semifinals in New Haven.
Angry Russian top seed Elena Dementieva hit out at Dutch match officials on after she lost the semifinal of the Ordina Open to local favorite Michaella Krajicek 1-6 7-6 6-4.
Russian top seed Elena Dementieva beat Serb Ana Ivanovic 7-6 6-4 on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Ordina Open in Den Bosch.
Former world number one Martina Hingis eased past fifth seed Elena Dementieva 6-3 6-2 at the German Open to set up an eagerly anticipated quarterfinal with top seed Amelie Mauresmo.
Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova will lead champions Russia in next month's first round Fed Cup tie against Belgium.
Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva beat eighth seed Ana Ivanovic 2-6 6-4 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.
Fresh from her success at the Pan Pacific Open, Elena Dementieva of Russia overwhelmed Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson 6-2 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the second round of the Gaz de France tournament in Paris.
Serena Williams suffered a disappointing 6-1 6-1 defeat to world number eight Elena Dementieva as she returned to action after an injury-hit 2005.
Elena Dementieva rallied for a 4-6 6-0 6-3 quarterfinal win over Kveta Peschke at the Advanta event to seal the eighth and final berth in the WTA's Tour Championships.
Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva eased into the last eight of the Advanta Championships with a 6-3 6-4 win over German Angelika Bachman in Philadelphia.
Kim Clijsters blew a chance to take the world number one spot from Maria Sharapova after losing at the Filderstadt Grand Prix.
Russia beat France 3-2 in a thrilling Fed Cup final thanks to a tireless double shift from Elena Dementieva at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Amelie Mauresmo held her nerve to comfortably beat Anastasia Myskina 6-4 6-2 and level the Fed Cup final with Russia at 1-1 after the opening singles.
France's Mary Pierce, who beat Elena Dementieva in controversial fashion at the U.S. Open last week, will face the Russian again in the opening singles of the Fed Cup final at Roland Garros.
Top seed Lindsay Davenport and number four Elena Dementieva began their preparations for next week's U.S. Open with confident second round wins at the New Haven Open.
Elena Dementieva avoided one of the worst defeats of her career, narrowly beating German qualifier Sabine Klaschka 2-6 6-3 8-6 in the second round
Amelie Mauresmo began the defense of her Rome Masters title with a 6-2 6-0 second-round win over Australia's Samantha Stosur on Wednesday.
The Russian assault on the WTA Tour continued at the Masters Series event as two high seeds cruised into the third round.
French Open champion Anastasia Myskina needed just 58 minutes to book her place in the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday, easing to a 6-1 6-4 victory over Czech Kvete Peschke.
Elena Dementieva stopped Venus Williams in her tracks as she won her first Hong Kong title in four attempts, securing a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the Watsons Water Champions Challenge.
Russian world No. 4 Elena Dementieva defeated Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova 6-7 6-3 6-1 for a winning start in Hong Kong's Champions Challenge round-robin event.
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova beat former world number one Venus Williams 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the $1.3 million Zurich event.
Anastasia Myskina trounced Elena Dementieva 7-5 6-0 in the Kremlin Cup final to retain her Moscow title in a rematch of their all-Russian French Open final earlier this year.
Lindsay Davenport powered past Australian Alicia Molik 6-1 6-0 in her opening match at the Fildsertadt Grand Prix on Wednesday.
Russian domination of the WTA Tour continued apace on Sunday as Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova won the iKorean Open in Seoul and Elena Dementieva triumphed in the Gaz de France event in Belgium.
Whatever the result, Russia will celebrate a grand slam treble when Elena Dementieva faces compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the U.S. Open final at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
French Open finalist Elena Dementieva of Russia was upset in the first round of the windswept Olympic tennis tournament, losing to Alicia Molik of Australia 4-6 6-0 6-3 in Athens.
Champion and top seed Serena Williams ironed out a number of Wimbledon wrinkles on Tuesday to reach the second round with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Zheng Jie.
Anastasia Myskina became the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam title when she defeated compatriot Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2 in the final of the French Open in Paris on Saturday.
Sixth seed Anastasia Myskina thrashed 2001 champion Jennifer Capriati 6-2 6-2 in the French Open semifinals on Thursday to set up the first all-Russian final at a grand slam tournament.
Serena Williams capped her return to competitive tennis with a 6-1 6-1 rout of Russian Elena Dementieva in the final of the WTA event at Key Biscayne, Florida on Saturday.
Russian fifth seed Elena Dementieva spoiled plans for an All-Williams final by defeating second seed Venus Williams 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7/3) in the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami.
Elena Dementieva has been forced to pull out of the Antwerp Diamond tournament with a shoulder injury.
Russian second seed Elena Dementieva survived a scare against wildcard Stephanie Cohen-Aloro before reaching the quarter-finals of the Paris Indoor Open.
Top seeds Andy Roddick and Justine Henin-Hardenne and defending men's champion Andre Agassi all enjoyed straight set victories on the opening day of the Australian Open.
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|