The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEIJING, August 17) -- Elena Dementieva of Russia fought back to overcome teammate Dinara Safina 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 and win the Women's Singles gold medal at the Olympic Green Tennis Center on Sunday, August 17.
The 26-year-old fell to her knees after hitting a winning forehand and, after congratulating her opponent, burst into tears.
Eight years after losing to Venus Williams of the United States in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games gold medal match, Dementieva took advantage of 17 double faults by Safina to earn Russia's first gold medal in this event.
Neither player was at their best as their combined total of 121 unforced errors testifies and there were 13 service breaks in the match, including the first four games of the opening set.
Another single break by Safina in the first set was enough to secure the set. Dementieva raced to a 4-1 lead in the second as Safina's error count mounted, but she was pegged back to 4-4 before breaking again in the twelfth game to level things up.
A similar story evolved in the third set as Dementieva went 4-1 up before Safina got back to 3-4 with her serve to come. But Dementieva, who has finished as runner-up in two Grand Slam tournaments, was not going to let this opportunity escape and broke back before serving out for the match.
By handing Safina her first defeat in 16 matches, Dementieva, at No. 6, becomes the lowest-ranked woman to win the Olympic Women's Singles title. She is also one of four women to medal in Singles at two Olympic Games.
Russia becomes the first since 1908, when Great Britain swept the Women's Singles on home turf in London, to complete a sweep of medals in any Tennis event.
