No. 26 ranked Alisa Kleybanova upset top-seeded No. 7 ranked Elena Dementieva in an all-Russian final at the 2010 WTA Malaysia Classic played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Feb. 22-28. It was an easy victory for Kleybanova who won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Dementieva had not lost a set on her route to the final, but she struggled on serve and two breaks allowed her Russian compatriot to take the first set 6-3 in Kuala Lumpur.
Kleybanova, the fourth seed, playing in a tour final for the first time, showed no sign of nerves as she continued her impressive display to close out the second set for a comfortable 6-3 6-2 win.
Kleybanova and Dementieva had not met previously in WTA singles. After the match, Kleybanova said: “It has been a tough week with many tough sets and matches. I’m just so happy to finally claim my first title. I’ve been waiting so long for this moment, training hard and playing in many tournaments. Everything came together in the final and I would like to thank Elena for the good match.”
Kleybanova was playing in her first WTA singles final; she has won 10 ITF singles titles, and 3 WTA & 12 ITF doubles titles. Kleybanova has a 9-6 singles match record in 2010, with 5 of her wins coming in the past week.
2008 Olympic gold medalist Dementieva is now 16-15 in WTA singles finals; she won the Auckland, Sydney and Toronto titles in 2009. She has a 14-3 singles match record in 2010, having won seven of the last nine, dating back to her gold medal victory at the Beijing Olympics.
The Kuala Lumpur singles final marked the 23rd all-Russian title bout on the Tour since the first took place in 2003. Dementieva has been involved in 12 all-Russian finals and she is now 6-6 in those.
