Defending champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia crashed out of the German Open at the semi-final stage on Saturday after a straight sets defeat to Elena Dementieva.
Dementieva, whom Ivanovic has never beaten in their four contests, now faces giant killing compatriot Dinara Safina in an all-Russia final.
After losing the first set 6-2, Ivanovic had few answers to Dementieva’s impressive start but the 20-year-old Serb rallied and fought back in the second, only for the Russian to pull away with a 7-5 win.
Dementieva said: “It’s going to be amazing to have a Russian final, I haven’t played her [Safina] for a long time. I am really looking forward to it.”
“I enjoyed the semi-final, Ana is a great player and I really gave my best today. It is never easy playing against her, but I was really focused and I worked hard for every single point,” she said.
Having claimed the scalps of world No.1 Justine Henin on Thursday and Serena Williams on Friday, Safina booked her place in yesterday’s final with a straight sets win over teenager Victoria Azarenka.
The Russian secured a 6-4, 6-1 win over the Belarrussian, who struggled with injury in the second set.
Azarenka, who knocked out seeds Anna Chadvetadze and Alona Bondarenko on the way to the semi-final, looked very strong early on with some superb shots to the base-line.
But her game fell apart in the second set as her frustration got the better of her. After smashing her racquet on the ground and briefly letting the tears flow, Azarenka started limping heavily and was barely able to complete the match, allowing Safina to wrap up victory.
Safina had the heart to praise the teenager, who will break into the WTA top 20 rankings next week after her performance in Berlin.
“She really played well and there was plenty of pressure from her returns,” Safina said. “I hung in there, she was cramping up in the second set which was unlucky for her.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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