Dementieva shows no mercy to Rezai

Elena Dementieva has secured a third round place with 6-1, 6-3 defeat over France’s Aravane Rezai in fading light on No.2 Court. The Russian fourth seed, who has beaten Rezai on all four of their previous meetings, was on devastating form and showed little mercy with an array of explosive groundstrokes that picked out the deepest angles of the court. Rezai, who is ranked 50 in the world, captured her first career Tour singles title in Strasbourg this year, and whilst she matched her 27-year-old opponent in power, she could not compete in consistency. Within 27 minutes Dementieva had polished off the first set with a dazzling backhand winner. The second set promised to tell a different story when the Frenchwoman managed to break the Russian in the opening game and race to a 3-0 lead. As the baseline slog grew in intensity, so did the volume of grunts echoing around the new arena. However, there was no danger of a third set tussle. Dementieva, who reached the semi-finals last year before bowing out to eventual champion Venus Williams, recovered to win six games on the trot and claim the match in an hour and 11 minutes.