Elena Dementieva

"I play (Elena) Dementieva today," Melanie said.

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"Elena has never played the tournament before and she's well in the mix for No1 -- it's a wide open race," McNamee said. "And it's the second exciting Russian team we've had for a second year in a row."

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"When I woke up this morning I felt really sore, especially after going to sleep at 2 am," said Jankovic, who needed almost three hours to overcome Elena Dementieva in the semis - a match in which Jankovic trailed 6-2 in the third-set tiebreaker. But she showed no sign of weariness as she had just nine unforced errors in pocketing the first set over struggling Safina. "I was just a little bit off today, I would say,"

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"When I woke up this morning I felt really sore, especially after going to sleep at 2am," said Jankovic, who needed almost three hours to overcome Elena Dementieva in the semis - a match in which Jankovic trailed 6-2 in the third-set tiebreaker. But she showed no sign of weariness as she had just nine unforced errors in pocketing the first set over struggling Safina. "I was just a little bit off today, I would say,"

Read more: Jankovic downs Safina to capture title | In this article: Jelena Jankovic, Wimbledon, US Open, Melanie Oudin, Surgery, and Serbia

"Before the match today, he told me the only goal for you today is not to lose 6-love, 6-1 like Elena," Bartoli said, laughing.

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"It's such a long time since I have beaten her, so I'm really happy about it," said Dementieva. "I just fought for every point. It was very emotional."

Read more: Champion Venus loses Doha opener | In this article: Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Doha, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, Viktoria Azarenka, and U.S.

Dementieva said: "In the end I was very emotional, very positive. When you play against a player like Venus you can't put pressure on yourself but you have to fight or every point."

Read more: Dementieva defeats champion Venus | In this article: Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Wimbledon, and Australian Open

"It's such a long time since I have beaten her, so I'm really happy about it," said Dementieva after racking up eight of the last 10 games of the contest.

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"I don't know about the other players but I feel like I didn't have enough time to recover after the U.S. Open," Dementieva said. "It's hard to get ready for such a big event like this and I just wish we had more time."

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"It's hard to get ready for such a big event like this and I just wish we had more time." Bondarenko broke Dementieva four times in the final set, including the last game when the Russian double-faulted on match point. "There was nothing wrong with my serve," said Dementieva, who won in Tokyo in 2006. "I was serving good today."

Read more: Sharapova cruises into third round with straight-sets victory | In this article: Maria Sharapova, Kateryna Bondarenko, Tokyo, Toray Pan Pacific Open, U.S. Open, Japan Open, Alisa Kleybanova, Dinara Safina, and Li Na