No.5 seed Elena Dementieva beat No.2 seed Dinara, 62 63, in the quarterfinals of the Medibank International Sydney on Wednesday night. It was Dementieva’s fourth straight victory over her fellow Russian, giving her a 6-5 edge in the all-time series. In fact, their most recent match-up had been a three-set victory for Dementieva here in last year’s final.

For the second straight day, Dinara dropped the first five games of the first set, but this time she wasn’t able to mount a comeback.

“I don’t think it was a bad match, especially the second set,” Dinara said. “It was very close. The score was 3-2 for her, and it could have been 4-1 for me.  Some things didn’t go my way.”

Dinara said despite the loss, she can take some positive things into next week’s Australian Open and just needs to get some more big-match experience.

“The season is just starting,” she said. “I’m pain-free and healthy. I just need to keep on going.
“I can say I beat a Top 10 player and I lost to another one of the top players. The game is there. I still have a few days to practice and improve my shots. That’s basically what you look for with good tennis.  So now I just need to work a little bit on the things that were missing. Hopefully, I can do better each match.”

Successful 2010 Debut in Sydney

Dinara made a successful 2010 singles debut on Tuesday, winning her first round match at the Medibank International Sydney after receiving a first round bye.

Dinara took on the most dangerous non-seed in the draw - world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska, just a single spot out of the seedings - and as expected it wasn’t easy. Dinara lost the first five games of the match before rallying, even saving a set point down 5-4; she would eventually complete the first set comeback and go on to win in straight sets, 75 64. 

“Well, it was a little bit of a slow start, but it was a start. It was a winning start,” said Dinara, who is now 2-0 all-time against Radwanska. “It’s not easy to play against Agnieszka. She’s a Top 10 player and plays very smart. I was missing my timing until 5-0 but then I found my game. It ended up being a very solid match for me for my first match of the year.”

Dinara said she had no problem with her back, which casued her to withdraw from the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009.

“Thanks God it’s fine,” she said. “I had a sad end of the year last year, but I had a big rest. I took really good care of it, and thank God I can play tennis now.”

In the quarterfinals, Dinara will play Elena Dementieva, who she lost to here in last year’s final.

In the first round of doubles on Monday, Dinara and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko fell to No.1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 62 63.