Russian cutie pie, Elena Dementieva, is going home with the Gold. Elena, ranked 7th in the world, won a back-and-forth match against Dinara Safina to lead the Russians to triple medals in the 2008 Olympic women’s singles. Elena took the Gold, Dinara Safina the Silver, and Vera Zvonareva the Bronze. It is the first tennis podium sweep in 100 years.
Elena said later, “This is for sure the biggest moment in my career, in my life. I will never forget this moment.”
It was an up and down match, with Elena making many errors in the first set and losing that set 3-6. She recovered her composure and won the 2nd set 7-5. She was able to win the 3rd and deciding set 6-3.
Elena and Safina had played three times this year, with Safina winning all three. It was Elena’s turn in a very important match. Way to go Elena!
