Dementieva aims to regain form on return from injury
Source: Agencies |
July 28, 2010, Wednesday
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ELENA Dementieva, who missed Wimbledon with an injury, returns to action as one of the top seeds at this week's Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, where she will look to tune up her game ahead of the US Open.
Dementieva, the second seed at this week's tournament, has a first-round bye and will face Japan's Kimiko Date Krumm.
Date Krumm ousted former top-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia 6-4, 6-7, 2-6 in a match that lasted two hours, 22 minutes.
Safina extended her losing streak to six matches after dropping out of the top 20 for the first time in four years.
The 28-year-old Dementieva suffered a calf injury at the French Open that forced her to pull out of a semifinal match against eventual champion Francesca Schiavone and take four weeks off to recover.
Dementieva, who has yet to win a grand slam title, said she understands injuries are part of the game but could not follow a Wimbledon that she was not competing in.
"I didn't watch because I was too disappointed I wasn't there," she said. "I didn't want to know who won."
Despite playing a grinding schedule for the past 11 years, the 28-year-old Dementieva had not missed a grand slam she had qualified for until this year.
Considered by some the best women's player not to have won a grand slam, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist said that despite her age she remains just as competitive as when she advanced to her first grand slam semifinal as a teenager in 2000.
"It's never easy to lose," said Dementieva. "I love to play and win and it's always disappointing to lose. Maybe I'm taking a little easier now, but it doesn't mean that I don't care."
Dementieva is hoping to regain her form in time for the US Open, which starts on August 30. She reached the US Open final in 2004 but lost to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova.
While the calf injury disrupted Dementieva's rhythm, she believes that it also had a positive side. "It was a good time to get a break and get ready for hard court season," she said. "In the end, I really needed some time off to get hungry for the competition."
On Monday, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic beat Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-2 in the first round, ending a two-match losing streak to the 26th-ranked Russian. Ivanovic, another former No. 1 player currently ranked No. 63, her lowest in five years, was awarded a wildcard into the event.
Dementieva, the second seed at this week's tournament, has a first-round bye and will face Japan's Kimiko Date Krumm.
Date Krumm ousted former top-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia 6-4, 6-7, 2-6 in a match that lasted two hours, 22 minutes.
Safina extended her losing streak to six matches after dropping out of the top 20 for the first time in four years.
The 28-year-old Dementieva suffered a calf injury at the French Open that forced her to pull out of a semifinal match against eventual champion Francesca Schiavone and take four weeks off to recover.
Dementieva, who has yet to win a grand slam title, said she understands injuries are part of the game but could not follow a Wimbledon that she was not competing in.
"I didn't watch because I was too disappointed I wasn't there," she said. "I didn't want to know who won."
Despite playing a grinding schedule for the past 11 years, the 28-year-old Dementieva had not missed a grand slam she had qualified for until this year.
Considered by some the best women's player not to have won a grand slam, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist said that despite her age she remains just as competitive as when she advanced to her first grand slam semifinal as a teenager in 2000.
"It's never easy to lose," said Dementieva. "I love to play and win and it's always disappointing to lose. Maybe I'm taking a little easier now, but it doesn't mean that I don't care."
Dementieva is hoping to regain her form in time for the US Open, which starts on August 30. She reached the US Open final in 2004 but lost to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova.
While the calf injury disrupted Dementieva's rhythm, she believes that it also had a positive side. "It was a good time to get a break and get ready for hard court season," she said. "In the end, I really needed some time off to get hungry for the competition."
On Monday, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic beat Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-2 in the first round, ending a two-match losing streak to the 26th-ranked Russian. Ivanovic, another former No. 1 player currently ranked No. 63, her lowest in five years, was awarded a wildcard into the event.
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