Amelie Mauresmo only had one win over a Top 10 ranked opponent in 2007 and 2008, but today she beat one of the most successful players this season Elena Dementieva 7-6(7) 2-6 6-4 and scored her fourth Top 10 victory in 2009.

Mauresmo, who advanced to the finals by defeating world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals and world No.3 Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals, clinched her third title at Paris, having already won the tournament in 2001 and 2006.

"I have had hard times. I did some soul searching by the end of last year and there is a new dynamic, a good preparation during the winter," said eight-seeded Mauresmo.

Falling to the Frenchwoman, third-seeded Dementieva failed to score her 500th career win. (photo via Open GDF SUEZ)

Amelie Mauresmo defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-2 0-6 6-1 in the semifinals of the Open GDF SUEZ. The other semifinal wasn’t played, as world No.1 Serena Williams pulled out of her encounter with Elena Dementieva.

Mauresmo handily won the first set 6-2, but Jankovic stormed back by winning seven games in a row to take the second set and lead 1-0 in the third. Jankovic, who is yet to impress with her game this year, lost all the following games and is now trailing Mauresmo 6-1 in head-to-head meetings.

Mauresmo’s next opponent will be Elena Dementieva, who was granted a walkover into Sunday's championship match as top seed Serena Williams pulled out with a right knee injury.

Williams on her injury:

I wasn't moving at all in practice, so there was really no chance for me to play today. I think I hurt it towards the end of my quarterfinal match. I guess I didn't have enough time to recover.

Still, the American is optimistic about her recovery:

I've just been playing a lot of tennis, so maybe this is a sign I'll need to take a day or two off and get ready for the next event, which is in two days. I'm going to make the effort to play there and do my best, and we'll just see what happens.

Mauresmo vs. Dementieva head-to-head record is very interesting. They have played 14 times so far, and Mauresmo leads 8-6. It goes into Dementieva’s favor that she has won their last two meetings in straight sets. However, their only meeting at the Paris tournament, which was in 2003, was won by Mauresmo 6-0 6-0. It was the only double bagel loss of Dementieva's career. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photos: Ralf Reinecke)

Seed No.20 Amelie Mauresmo was dismissed my No.13 seed Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-2, leaving Serena Williams as the only former champion in the draw.

"It's a little bit frustrating to come out with only six games today, but I did not play well enough the key points, whether it was in the first set or second set," said Mauresmo, who reached the semifinals of Brisbane two weeks back. "She played a very good match. Really intense and consistent, and not giving away many points at all."

Recent Brisbane champion Azarenka will play Serena Williams in the fourth round. They have had one meeting so far, at the 2008 Australian Open, and Williams won 6-3 6-4.

More day six results:

Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Alona Bondarenko 7-6(7) 6-4 despite hitting 68 errors, Dominika Cibulkova defeated Virginie Razzano 7-5 7-5, Zheng Jie went past Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2 6-2, Elena Dementieva bettered Samantha Stosur 7-6(6) 6-4. Other day six results we have already been mentioned. (photo: Getty Images)

Seed No.20 Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated world No.134 Elena Baltacha 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the second-round match full of unforced errors.

The Australian Open champion Mauresmo started off well, breaking Baltacha in the third game. But Baltacha then won four games in a row for a 5-2 lead. However, serving for the set at 5-3, Baltacha got nervous and Mauresmo broke her serve. Still, the Briton eventually won the first set 6-4.

In the second set Mauresmo broke Baltacha at the very beginning, and despite many ups and downs of both players during the set, that initial break kept Mauresmo’s hopes of advancing alive, as it took the match to a deciding set.

In the third set Baltacha broke Mauresmo in the first game, and had a 2-0 lead, but since then the Frenchwoman won all the games and secured her spot in the third round of the Australian Open.

Other notable results so far on day 4:

Fourth seed Elena Dementieva advanced to the third round beating Iveta Benesova 6-4 6-1, seed No.18 Dominika Cibulkova crushed Yung-Jan Chan 6-0 6-2, while No.14 seed Patty Schnyder lost to Virginie Razzano 6-3 6-1. Victoria Azarenka, seeded 13th, advanced when her opponent Tathiana Garbin retired.  Kateryna Bondarenko, whose upset of Agnieszka Radwanska in the first round has remained the biggest by now, made one more step further by reaching the third round. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

Second seed Victoria Azarenka beat Italian Sara Errani in the Brisbane semifinals, while Marion Bartoli advanced when Amelie Mauresmo retired hurt during the first set of their semifinal.

"I'm obviously very happy – I just want to do better than the last time and win my first title," said the last year’s finalist Azarenka who went past Errani 6-3 6-1 in just over an hour. "I will fight for every point. It's the last match so you have to give everything you have and stay positive no matter what."

In the other semifinal, Mauresmo, who beat top seed Ana Ivanovic in the Brisbane quarters, retired trailing 0-4 to fellow Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. During the match, Mauresmo received medical treatment to her left thigh and lower back.

"It's frustrating and not how you want to end the tournament but I guess it's more sensible to make sure I'm 100% for Melbourne," said Mauresmo whose participation in next week’s Medibank International in Sydney has become uncertain.

Azarenka and Bartoli have played just once so far, in the second round of the 2007 Australian Open, and the Belorussian won in straight sets. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photos by Elsa/Getty Images via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Top seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was upset by Amelie Mauresmo 6-3 6-2 in the Brisbane International quarterfinals.

World No.5 Ivanovic struggled for rhythm throughout the match and was shaky on serve, losing five of her last six service games after leading 3-2 in the first set.

In a battle between two former world No.1s, the 23rd-ranked Mauresmo scored her first triumph over a Top-10 player in almost two years.

"I’m very proud of the way I played today from the first one to the last," said the 29-year-old Mauresmo.

The fifth-seeded Mauresmo faces third-seeded fellow Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the semifinals, while Ivanovic now heads to Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open. (source: Brisbane International)

Jelena Dokic showed more than a glimpse of the form that once took her to No.4 in the world, but still failed to convert several chances and fell to Amelie Mauresmo 7-6(9) 7-6(5) in a tense first-round match at the Brisbane International.

Jelena Dokic, currently ranked 179th, twice served for the first set and also had several set points in a long tiebreak which Mauresmo eventually won 11-9. In the second set, France's Mauresmo served for the match, but Dokic fought back and forced another tiebreak, poised at 5-all before the 25-year-old wildcard conceded it with two errors.

"It hurts knowing I had those chances against her," Dokic said.

"If I got blown away maybe it wouldn't hurt so much."

It’s interesting to note that Dokic hit 31 winners, compared to Mauresmo’s seven. However, Dokic was leading in unforced errors, too – she made 33 to Mauresmo’s six.

In other matches on Monday three seeded players were upset. Fourth seed Daniela Hantuchova fell to Sara Errani 6-7 6-4 6-0, eighth seed Francesca Schiavone was defeated by Olga Govortsova 7-5 6-2, while seed No.9 Ai Sugiyama lost to Samantha Stosur 6-2 6-3. (source: Fox Sports, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Here’s the overview of Amelie Mauresmo’s 2008 Reebok outfits, the last retrospection of WTA players’ outfits this year. It’s especially dedicated to one of our first faithful readers, Claire, who really wanted to see her favorite player featured.

As you can see, the Reebok-clad Mauresmo didn’t sport many different designs during 2008. All her outfits were simple, and often she wore the same dress, just in different color.

Read more »

Jelena Jankovic is not the only one doing serious work in preparation for the 2009 tennis season. Amelie Mauresmo is training with new coach Hugo Lecoq and her personal website has a nice set of photos to prove the two-time Grand Slam champion is not about to retire yet.

I can't wait to see what the next season has in store for Amelie.

World No.20 Dominika Cibulkova defeated former No.1 Amelie Mauresmo in the first round of two successive tournaments.

The 19-year-old Slovak ended Mauresmo’s stay at the recent Toray Pan Pacific Open in the first round already, coming back from a first-set bagel and saving four match points. Today, Cibulkova repeated the upset in the first round of the China Open in Beijing taking the Frenchwoman out 3-6 6-4 6-3. (photo: cibulkova-dominika.com)