Dementieva Dumps Clijsters; Davenport, Mauresmo Advance

Posted on October 8, 2005

Russian Elena Dementieva put a stop to Kim Clijsters’ 21-match win streak on Friday edging the Belgian 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The win puts Dementieva into the semifinals alongside Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo and Daniela “The Player Formerly Known as Stick Girl” Hantuchova.

The US Open champ Clijsters held a 7-1 advantage over her fellow-blond and hadn’t even dropped a set in four years.

"That’s the best she’s ever played against me," said Clijsters, who could have returned to the No. 1 ranking with a title this week. "When she’s on, she hits the ball harder than anyone on the Tour and I think you could see today her serve has improved a lot too. She’s always very dangerous... I think for me it was one match too much physically. I’ve done really well the last few weeks and months to keep playing as well as I have and I had to have a let down at some point."

Said Dementieva: "I played the best match of my career. Kim is such a tough player. It’s great for my confidence because the last five years I’ve had problems playing her and couldn’t win, so today is really a big victory for me. I was smiling so much on the court because we were having unbelievable rallies, hitting the ball hard and moving each other around."

Meanwhile, top-seeded Davenport kept her own hopes for a third Filderstadt title alive with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over No. 8 seed Anastasia Myskina.

"It was a strange match with lots of ups and downs from both of us," Davenport said. "I started off really well, but from 3-all in the second set, I missed a few and she stepped it up. I got off to a good start at the beginning of the third, and I think that settled the matter. Her level dropped again and I was able to take advantage."

Next up for Davenport will be the unseeded Hantuchova, a 6-3, 6-4 victor over Italy's Flavia “Of the Week” Pennetta.

Third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo rounds out the final four after a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over No.6 seed Nadia Petrova.