Elena Dementieva Destroys Serena Williams In The Sydney International Final.

Elena Dementieva of Russia crushed Serena Williams of the United States 6-3 6-2 in the Sydney International event in Australia today.  Dementieva has won fifteen WTA Tour titles  but she is still not a champion. Dementieva is still mentally fragile and her serve is her weakness. She has modifed her serve but it still crumbles under pressure.

It is sad that Dementieva has not found the mental strength to win a grand slam she is a solid top ten player. Elena has proven she can beat anyone including Serena Williams when she is playing her best tennis.

Dementieva is a strong woman she is five feet eleven, incredibly fit, moves well, has excellent groundstrokes.   The question is does Dementieva have the mental toughness to beat the top women at a grand slam when it matters the most?

Dementieva has made a habit of beating Serena before a grand slam only to capitulate during the semifinals of a grand slam event. For example,  last year in the Wimbledon semifinals Dementieva had a match point but still lost to Serena Williams 6-7 7-5 8-6.

In January 2009, at the Sydney International semifinals, Dementieva smashed Serena 6-3 6-1 but she  lost to Williams at the Australian Open. In August 2009, at the Canadian Open Dementieva defeated Serena easily 7-6 6-1 only to lose in the second round to American teenager Melanie Oudin.

Dementieva has failed to reach a grand slam final since the 2004 US Open. Only time will tell if  Dementieva  can handle the pressure and finally win a grand slam event?