TENNIS

Dementieva ousts Williams in Toronto

Russian scores some Wimbledon revenge

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TORONTO — Elena Dementieva of Russia advanced to the final of the Rogers Cup on Saturday with a 7-6 (2), 6-1 win over Serena Williams.

Dementieva, the tournament’s fourth seed, will face Maria Sharapova in today’s championship match (1:30 p. m., Ch. 5). Sharapova beat Alisa Kleybanova in the other semifinal, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

The 27-year-old Dementieva, who lost to Williams in a nearly three-hour semifinal match at Wimbledon, kept her cool while overcoming a 5-3 deficit in the first set.

“I was really waiting for this match after Wimbledon,” said Dementieva, who has two tournament wins this year but none since January. “It’s always very interesting to play against Serena, and I was looking for revenge after Wimbledon.

“I was very positive on the court, and very satisfied with the way I was playing.”

The second-seeded Williams came into the match as the hottest player in the tournament, but an unreliable serve and a litany of unforced errors were her undoing. The 2001 Rogers Cup champion was broken five times and looked out of rhythm from the start, hitting routine shots long, wide or into the net.

“I can’t say I was especially feeling the fire,” Williams said. “Obviously you want to do well, and I always really want to do well. Honestly, I think I could have and should have won, but I didn’t, so . . . it is what it is.”

Dementieva has now beaten Williams in four of their last five hard-court meetings, a positive sign for the Russian with the U. S. Open getting under way in just over a week. However, Dementieva wasn’t looking that far ahead.

“You never know,” said Dementieva. “I feel like I’ve had a lot of good matches over the past three weeks, and I hope it’s going to be a good preparation for the U. S. Open.”

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