Safina to meet Dementieva in final

Russian seals straight sets victory over Azarenko

By Simon Dilger   Last updated: 10th May 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Safina to meet Dementieva in final

Safina: Final

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Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva are set to clash in an all Russian final at the German Open in Berlin.

Both emerged victorious from their semi-final matches on Saturday, Safina with a straight sets victory over Victoria Azarenka and Dementieva also beating world number two Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.

Safina, who claimed the scalps of Justine Henin and Serena Williams on Thursday and Friday respectively, beat Azarenka 6-4 6-1.

Having practically dominated the first set, Azarenka, who knocked out seeds Anna Chadvetadze and Alona Bondarenko on the way to the semis, struggled with injury in the second.

The 18-year-old looked very strong early on, hitting a number of superb shots to the baseline.

Frustration

But her game began to crumble in the second set and, starting to limp heavily, she found herself unable to contain her frustration, flinging her racket to the ground and sobbing on court.

With Azarenka barely able to complete the match, the Russian wrapped up her victory with some ease.

The 13th seed also took time to praise Azarenka, who will break into the WTA top 20 rankings next week after her performance in Berlin.

She said: "She really played well and there was plenty of pressure from her returns. I hung in there, she was cramping up in the second set which was unlucky for her."

Dementieva meanwhile completed a 6-2 7-5 victory over Ivanovic to book her place in the final.

The 20-year-old Serb, whose game was riddled with too many unforced errors, was broken five times by seventh seeded Dementieva.

Dementieva, who Ivanovic has never beaten in their four meetings, said: "It's going to be amazing to have a Russian final.

"I haven't played her (Safina) for a long time, I am really looking forward to it.

"I enjoyed the semi-final, Ana is a great player and I really gave my best today.

"It is never easy playing against her, but I was really focused and I worked hard for every single point."

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