10 January,2009 12:00 PM IST | | AFP
World No 4 Elena Dementieva rallied from a slow start to cruise to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Elena Vesnina in an all-Russian ASB Classic final today.
After an early lapse by the reigning Olympic champion, in which she dropped her serve in the third game and was down three game points in the fifth, Dementieva came back to win five of the next six games for the first set.
With a powerful forehand and reliable backhand, Dementieva was never troubled in the second set as she raced to her 12th WTA tour singles title.
The victory underscored her dominance of the tournament in which she did not drop a set all week in her build-up for the Australian Open, the only Grand Slam where she has yet to make the quarter-finals.
Her one awkward moment was the opening set of her first match when she trailed Chan Yung-Jan of Taiwan 1-5.
"The crowd's support was awesome, not just today but all week," Dementieva said.
"It was a pleasure to come here and play this tournament. We all really felt at home here, it was very nice. And for the first time my mom isn't here with me, so I'm especially happy to take this trophy back home for her."
Vesnina, in her first WTA final had reason to feel confident after surviving three-setters against second seed Caroline Wozniacki and Anne Keothavong in the quarters and semis and making an early breakthrough in the final.
But once Dementieva settled, Vesnina the World No 76 was never a threat.
