Dementieva wins first-ever title

By Chris Davies
April 29 2003

Elena Dementieva won her first tournament title by beating Lindsay Davenport in the final of the Bausch and Lomb Championships, Amelia Island

The first set could have gone either way with both players playing great tennis at the peak of their games but Davenport who has beaten the Russian on 6 occassions out of 8 match ups was on her way to another win over the 10th seed.

Dementieva looked to have the second set wrapped up at 5-4 holding set points but was forced back to 5-5 after some shaky games she eventually took it 7-5. The play was poor at times but amazing retrieving from both players made the match more enjoyable for the crowd and also confidence boosts for the players.

The former world number 1 looked a bit fatigued in the final set and her service action wasn't with her at all and nobody holding serve till 3-3 when Dementieva edged infront.

The Russian who is not inside the top 20 beat a talented lot of players including Coetzer, Hantuchova, Henin-Hardenne showing that they were not just flukes by beating Davenport should rise back into the top 20 when the rankings are released on Monday.

Elena served out for the match and stormed ahead to 40-0 taking the title with her first match point.

Final Results

(10) E DEMENTIEVA (RUS) bt (1) L DAVENPORT (USA)
4-6, 7-5, 6-3