Dementieva Chokes WTA Champ Hopes at WTA LinzPosted on October 27, 2005 No. 2 seed Elena Dementieva went for the throat-clutcher Wednesday at the WTA stop in Linz with her qualification for the year-end WTA Championship hanging in the balance, handing unheralded Czech Kveta Peschke her first win over a Top 10 player in five years with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat.
"It was a tough first match for me -- she was playing very aggressively, and hitting the ball very flat," Dementieva said. "I wasn't playing my best today, but I have to respect her game. She didn't allow me to get into a rhythm, and she deserved to win." Dementieva had won both her previous meetings with the Czech, and double-faulted twice to lose her opening service game. No. 5-seeded Russian Elena Likhovtseva was also an upset victim in three sets at the hands of Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama, while (6) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Koukalova 7-6 in the third) and (9) Tatiana Golovin (d. Karatantcheva) safely advanced. Other unseeded winners on the day were Swedish qualifier Sofia Arvidsson (d. (Q) Strycova) and Austrian wildcard Tamira Paszek (d. (Q) Vesnina in three). On tap for Thursday in Linz are Sugiyama vs. Dulko, Martinez vs. Hantuchova, Arvidsson vs. Petrova, Dushevina vs. Bammer, Schnyder vs. Benesova, and Paszek vs. Ivanovic. |
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