体坛英语新闻：Russia's Safina snatches German Open title

BERLIN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Russian tennis player Dinara Safina beat compatriot Elena Dementieva 2-1 to snatch the title of German Open here on Sunday.

    Safina, ranked 17th in the world, won 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and took into pocket the top prize of nearly 200,000 U.S. dollars. 

    Facing Russian derby on Sunday, Safina, who had ousted world number on Justine Henin and U.S. star Serena Williams on her way to the final, was too anxious to win in the first set, thus committing too many unforced errors.

    The 13th seed was upset with 3-6 by number seven seed Dementieva, who beat defending champion Ana Ivanovic a day earlier.

    In the second set, Safina became steady. Her powerful service and diversified hitting-backs earned her an equalizer 6-2.

    In the decisive third set, Safina continued her dominance and swept Dementieva with another 6-2.

    This is the first time for the 22-year old to win German Open.

    With nearly 200,000 U.S. dollar prize in pocket, Safina was excited and the champion title is a special gift for "Mother's Day", which falls on May 11.

    "I'll tell my mother, let her buy everything she wants," Safina said after the match.

Russia's Safina reacts during the final against her compatriot Dementieva at the 'German Open' tennis tournament in Berlin, May 11, 2008.

 "Hopefully the shops are open today," she joked.

    Safina comes from a family of tennis. Her brother Marat Safina is a well-known tennis player and he has once ranked world number one.

    With regret, Dementieva, world number nine, told the press conference that she would have had "chances to win" in the final.

    "I think I had opportunities to win, especially in the second set," Dementieva said. "I'm disappointed, I did not move a lot."

    The 27-year-old praised Safina in her progress. "She moved muchbetter," she added.

    Earlier on the day, world number one Cara Black from Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of the United States beat Spanish pair Nuria Llagostera Vives /Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to seal the women's doubles title.