Swiss teenager Timea Bacsinszky almost stunned sixth seed Dinara Safina in straight sets, but the Russian recovered in the last moment and continued her successful run on the Tour (since May, in-form Safina has reached six finals in seven tournaments).

World No.60 Bacsinszky, playing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, won the first set, and in the second she was only two points away from victory when scrappy Safina woke up, fought back, and forced the match into a decider. As expected, Bacsinszky wasn’t much of a challenge in the third set after a great opportunity in the second slipped through her hands. Final score: 3-6 7-5 6-2.

Safina will next meet Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany. (photo: safina-dinara.com)

Share This

Russian sixth seed Dinara Safina advanced to the third round of the US Open with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Roberta Vinci of Italy.

Roland Garros finalist Safina, who has won three WTA titles this season as well as silver medal at the Olympics, established a 3-0 lead in the first set and 3-1 in the second, but her inconsistency enabled world No.164 Vinci to break back and threaten a fightback.

Still, hard-hitting Safina extended her win-loss record since Wimbledon to 17-0 and will play Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky, ranked 60th, in round three. (source: Reuters, photo: Getty Images)

Share This

Elena Dementieva is the singles gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics, having defeated fellow Russian Dinara Safina 3-6 7-5 6-3.

What an achievement for Russian tennis, all the three medals were taken by Russian players with Dementieva winning the gold, Safina silver and Zvonareva bronze with a victory 6-0 7-5 over China's Li Na.

Dementieva took advantage of 17 double-fault committed by Safina, plus, the eventual champion Dementieva hit twice as many winners, 26 to 13.

"I never expected a medal — gold, silver or bronze," said Dementieva. "It's unbelievable. For me this is the best moment in my career. I'll never forget it."

The 26-year-old Dementieva won the silver medal in Sydney in 2000. (source: ESPN, photo via Tennis Info Blog)

Share This

Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva will fight for the gold medal in an all-Russian final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In the semifinals the sixth-seeded Safina overcame China's Li Na 7-6(3) 7-5, while the fifth-seeded Dementieva, a silver medalist in Sydney eight years ago, defeated compatriot Vera Zvonareva 6-3 7-6(3).

Safina, who achieved her 15th straight singles victory, overcame 12 double faults in the semifinal against home favorite Li, including four in the sixth game of the opening set and four in the fifth game of the second. However, Li was no stranger to mistakes either - the world No.42 made 69 unforced errors. Well, no wonder Safina was double faulting - the victory over Li came playing barely 12 hours after she lost a doubles match that lasted until 3:30 a.m. local time.

Safina is 5-2 all-time against her childhood friend Dementieva.

Na Li and Vera Zvonareva will play for the bronze medal. (sources: The Sports Network, BBC)

Share This

World number one Jelena Jankovic lost 6-2 5-7 6-3 to in-form Dinara Safina of Russia in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Tennis Event in Beijing.

The second-seeded Serb was too weak for big-hitting Safina. Despite great fight, you know JJ never gives up, it was quite clear that Safina will overpower her in the end. However, considering Jankovic's health, she advanced more than far enough in Beijing.

There are three Russians in the semifinals (Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, and Dinara Safina) and one home favorite Li Na.

Additional info: Because of bad weather the schedule of the Olympic Tennis Event had to be rearranged. The women's singles semifinals will be played on Saturday, while the final will be played on Sunday. (photo: Getty Images)

Share This