Fifth seed Elena Dementiava was still getting over her gold medal showing in Beijing, when she quickly disposed of Uzbekistan’s Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4, 7-5. Ammanmuradova was up 5-3 in the second set, when a gallant, perhaps tired, Dementiava recovered and won the final 4 games. Her tiredness was worth it all, with the proud title of Olympic Champion attached to her name forever.
She reported that she was up late watching the closing ceremony before the game. “It’s very hard not to think about the Olympic Games,” Dementieva said. “Very difficult to refocus. I mean, all my thinking is there in Beijing.”
“The biggest goal for the year was Beijing,” she said. “In Russia, if you stop anyone in the street and ask what is a Grand Slam, I don’t think many people can tell you. But everyone knows the Olympic Games. There is nothing bigger.”
On her way to the US Open, she was able to stop off in Moscow and see her family. “People just come to me and say, ‘Oh, I’m happy for you. You’re always losing in the final. It’s so great that you finally win something big,’” she said.
Can she go all the way? With no Henin, and no Sharapova in the way…anything is possible.
