Inspired by a tweet from Brad Gilbert,
“Elena D, best player never to win a Slam, is flying under the radar and no one really talking about her. I think that's a good thing for her.”
This first posting is devoted to
Ms.Elena Dementieva herself. Having won 16 WTA events and a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as a silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Dementieva is the silent threat at the US Open; an event she has been a semifinalist at three times in her career.
In the start of her career, Dementieva wasn’t always so widely received, having been rejected by both the Dynamo Sports Club and the Central Red Army Tennis Club. Ignoring these initial setbacks, she rose above them went on to turn pro at the age of 17.
Coached by her mother Vera, a former school teacher that quit her job to guide her daughter to her current accomplishments, Dementieva has been trained to be a top offensive baseline player. Utilizing solid ground strokes as a weapon at times, but it is her forehand that’s used as her strongest defense.
Unlike some players, she also has a very strong running forehand and works hard to not let a shot get by her. She makes the most of her speeds and athleticism, which can be seen as she moves around the court. The biggest visible weakness still remains her serve, with a large inconsistency, especially within big matches.
This weakness aside, Dementieva has now reached the fourth round of the US Open, a 12
th seed, and though she struggled with injuries all summer she was able to defeat, 24th-seeded,
Daniela Hantuchova with a 7-5 6-2 win.
In the fourth round, she faces, fifth-seed, Samantha Stosur, a 2010 French Open finalist. Despite her best grand slam results steming from runner-up finishes in 2004 at the French Open and U.S. Open, Dementieva appears confident that the grand slam title that has evaded her this long is actually closer than people might think.