Olympic champion Elena Dementieva unexpectedly announced her retirement at the age of only 29 after losing her last group match at the year-end WTA Tour Championships here on Friday.
Dementieva, who enjoyed her greatest moment at the Beijing Games, bowed out amidst tearful scenes after a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Francesca Schiavone from Italy.
“It's so difficult to say goodbye,” she said, fighting back her emotions. She explained: “When I talked to my family about this decision I was ready for them to support me, but they were very surprised. They said you can play a couple of years and win many tournaments — but if you feel this way you have to make this decision. I think no one was really happy about it except my boyfriend!”
Meanwhile, Vera Zvonareva maintained her unbeaten record while reaching the semifinals. Her 6-4, 7-5 victory on Friday over US Open champion Kim Clijsters also guaranteeing her a year-end finish as World No. 2. Clijsters' semifinal will be against Samantha Stosur, the world number five from Australia, who won the other group after beating Wozniacki on Wednesday.
In Vienna, crowd hero Jurgen Melzer rolled over a brief Spanish challenge from third seed Nicolas Almagro for a 6-4, 6-4 win to move into his second consecutive final at the Austria Tennis Trophy.
The results: At Doha: WTA Tour Championships: Maroon group : Francesca Schiavone bt Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2; Stosur and Wozniacki qualified; White group : Victoria Azarenka bt Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-1; Vera Zvonareva bt Kim Clijsters 6-4, 7-5; Zvonareva and Clijsters qualified.
At St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg Open) : Semifinals : Mikhail Youzhny bt Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(8); Mikhail Kukushkin bt Ilya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4; Quarterfinals : Tursunov bt Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-2; Youzhny bt Victor Hanescu 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(6).
At Montpellier (Open Sud de France) : Semifinals : Ivan Ljubicic bt Albert Montanes 6-3, 7-6(4); Gael Monfils bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4; Quarterfinals : Ljubicic bt Jarkko Nieminen 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6); Gael Monfils bt John Isner 3-6, 6-4, 6-4; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-7(0), 6-3; At Vienna (Bank Austria Tennis Trophy) : Semifinals : Jurgen Melzer bt Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-4; Andreas Haider-Maurer bt Michael Berrer 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-3.
