Wimbledon 2006 Biography: Elena Dementieva

Wimbledon 2006 Biography: Elena Dementieva
By Eric Williams

Elena Dementieva played and won her first international tournament in France at the age of 13. She turned professional in 1998 and went on to enter the top 100 in 1999.
In 2000, she entered the top 20 by winning more than 40 singles matches for the second consecutive year. She reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, losing to Lindsay Davenport and becoming the first woman from Russia to reach a US Open semifinal. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney, she won the silver medal, losing to Venus Williams in the final. Sshe was named the WTA tour's Most Improved Player that year as well
Dementieva is an aggressive baseline player who has one of the best groundstrokes in the WTA and is able to punish opponents with forehands as well as backhands. However, her glaring weakness is her weak serve. Dementieva's mental toughness is also open for debate. While she manages to consistently rank in the top 10 despite her weak serve, she rarely plays her best in a finals match.
In 2004, Dementieva had a breakthrough year. She reached the final of both, the French Open and the US Open. Although she lost both finals, Dementieva has shown that she certainly has the physical ability to compete with the world's best players. Now if she can only get the part between the ears down pat, she'd be a Grand Slam champion in not time at all.