Dementieva Beats Sharapova at Rogers Cup

I have to admit that, although Maria Sharapova has struggled this past year with her shoulder injury, I had predicted that she would beat Elena Dementieva during yesterday’s Rogers Cup final in Toronto but I was wrong.  The women have met 10 times before and Sharapova emerged the victor 80% of the time so I thought the odds were stacked in her favor but she really struggled and ultimately lost.

image: Zuma Press

Both women were using the event as a warm-up to the U.S. Open which begins next week and I would say that Dementieva should feel very confident after beating Sharapova 6-4, 6-3.  She remained steady and focused as Sharapova lost her composure after serving up error after error.  Dementieva also took down Serena Williams earlier in the week in a similar match.

“It’s great to have so many good matches against so many top-10 players here,” said Dementieva. “I hope it’s going to be good preparation. For sure, this kind of win gives you a lot of confidence, so right now it’s all about recovering and getting ready for New York.”

Regardless of the fact that Sharapova failed to win the title, she should be encouraged by her performance.  She made it to the final and that’s a great step toward returning to top form.  She didn’t seem too unhappy with being the runner-up either:  “I think it was a really great week for me. Playing six matches was great leading up to the U.S. Open. I think this was really good preparation.”

I couldn’t agree more.  I’m hoping Sharapova does well at the U.S. Open but after her performance at the Rogers Cup, I am definitely going to keep my eye on Dementieva.  She is on a hot streak.