Dementieva beats Serena in Sydney

Elena Dementieva successfully defended her crown by beating Serena Williams in the final of the Medibank International Sydney. Dementieva took advantage of Williams' limited movement in posting a 6-3 6-2 victory. It was her second straight win at this tournament having also beaten Dinara Safina in last year's finals. Dementieva now starts the year with a perfect 5-0 record, while Williams will go into the Australian Open with a 4-1 record. Dementieva has now beaten the world #1 five times in their last eight matches. It also stopped Serena's winning run at 9 matches dating back to the WTA Tour Championships last November.

Despite the loss, Serena Williams is still considered as the heavy favorite to win the Australian Open ladies singles title. Last year, Williams also lost to Dementieva in the semifinals of the Sydney tournament, with a more lopsided 63 61 score. They however met in the semifinal stage at the Australian Open 2009 and Williams scored a more important 63 64 victory. Williams then defeated Safina in the finals to win her tenth grand slam title.