Wimbledon '09: Yet Another Disappointment for Elena Dementieva

I am not an avid follower of Rock music. In fact, I don’t even know the difference between hard rock, metal rock, or various other varieties of the genre. However, there is one band which I really love and follow—Linkin Park.

Their songs are a mix of high voltage rock—as per my low standards—while keeping the softness alive, and more often than not, you can relate each of their songs to some part of your life, making them inseparable.

The song that would fit Elena Dementieva after today is from Linkin Park’s first album Hybrid Theory with the title “In the End” and especially the lines:

I kept everything inside, And even though I tried, it all fell apart.
What it meant to be will eventually be, A memory of a time when,
I tried so hard, and got so far. But in the end, it doesn’t even matter.
I had to fall, to lose it all, and in the end, it doesn’t even matter.

Dementieva is one of the few women’s players, who is soft spoken, reluctant towards the media, and devoid of the glamour surrounding fellow players. Yet, she is consistent enough to feature in the top five of the world for extended periods of time, even when her fellow players keep wobbling past her, either forward or backward.

Her game, though, has major limitations which has been a difference between her being merely a top five player and a Grand Slam winner. Technicalities apart, she lacks the mental strength, and courage, needed to finish off big matches like these, which her opponent, Serena Williams, across the net had in plenty!

This is also an explanation of why Dementieva, despite winning four of her last five encounters against the World No. 2, has never managed to beat her in a Grand Slam or a Tour Championship match.

She proved throughout the match, that she has the game to beat Serena Williams. She served huge—better than she has done before—and returned deep, never giving Serena enough time to react.

Her excellent movement across the court meant that Serena was not getting the winners that she usually is accustomed of, and her frustration was audible, as the decibels kept increasing during the course of the match.

Dementieva took the lead by winning the first set tie-breaker, and kept her composure for most parts in the second set, as she broke Serena back immediately after losing her serve.

But as always with the Russian, she faltered on big points. Numerous forehands went long while various other backhands failed to cross the net, which she would have hit for definite winners in any other game. She could convert only three out of 12 break points.

Serena—even though audibly frustrated—showed the spirit, composure, and confidence of a champion as she played her best game during big points.

She saved most of her break points with aces and showed tremendous courage to save the match point by an outrageous volley one a relatively poor approach shot. The statistics might say that she won less than half the points at the net, but she won the one that mattered the most.

This was the story of the day. Elena was made to earn each of her three breaks of serves, while Serena was gifted each of her share of five.

Serena might attribute each of her losses to her bad play, rather than the opponent’s good play; but this is one day when Dementieva holds every right to voice the same opinion for Serena.

As I write this, the other sister, Venus, mercilessly crushed the World no. 1, Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0. My memory fails to recall a match when a World No. 1 had faced such a massacre before, French Open '08 final withstanding.

Who says the Women's tour is unpredictable after the two semifinals? It is definitely predictable, albeit not in a good way.