The unseeded Russian may be slamless but she showed brilliance to hold the Kremlin Cup and celebrate an early 26th birthday present.

Serena Williams stood between Elena Dementieva and a Russiasn victory, the one woman who has destroyed so many players'

With Serena Williams and the big hitting Russians taking part, the Kremlin Cup promised to be a memorable tournament. But how did the tournament really pan out . . .

Serena Williams stood between Elena Dementieva and a Russian victory, the one woman who has destroyed so many players. She had beaten Elena in their last four meetings in straight sets. Elena had been hit by injury  which almost caused her retirement and her year had been anything but consistent. Moscow was about to change all that, but how on earth did she do it?

The first set was a close affair, with breaks and holds coming from the most unusual patterns. At 5-4 Serena had triple set point, but couldn't convert. But the American got the job done at 6-5, with a love break. and took the set 7-5. It started to look a bit dull for Dementieva, but she wouldn't be the player she is if she simply gave up. The Russian raced to 4-0, Serena looked down in the dumps.

She took off pace from her shots and finally held serve. But that didn't stop Dementieva taking the set, 6-1. After winning the first set, what could of stop Serena but herself. She looked sharp to stage a brilliant comeback as she claimed Dementieva's serve, but Elena simply raced the next six games to claim one of her finest wins 7-5 6-1 6-1.

Elena took her win with joy. "We had a tough first set and then right at the beginning of the second set I broke her, and that's when I felt I was starting to push her. I didn't want to give up. I was fighting for every point. I think in the third set she started getting a little tired maybe," she said. And Serena payed tribute to Elena's win. "I'm not going to make excuses - it wasn't the court or anything else - it was me. I thought she played unbelievably. I think she should play like that more often," she said.

Svetlana Kuznetsova was handed the golden opportunity to prove herself as the new Russian No.1. But she couldn't come up with the goods as Serena Williams tamed her in the earlier semi-finals, avenging her lose to Svetlana in Stuttgart. After her shock defeat at Flushing Meadows, Maria Sharapova once again found herself on the comeback road, but she got knocked down early by Victoria Azarenka. The Russian will continue with her comeback in the hopes to find better form for Madrid.

The Kremlin Cup did offer certain pointers. Serena Willaims is beginning to find her best form after the thumb injury she sustained at Wimbledon, and Dementieva displayed new-found power and brilliance. But Sharapova and Kuznetsova continue to toil.

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From : http://www.sportingo.com/