Dementieva Accomplishes First - Beats Serena To Win Kremlin Cup

Mosco, Soviet Union (AHN) - 'You Go Girl' is the theme of the day after veteran Elena Dementieva beat Serena Williams 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 Sunday to win the Kremlin Cup final, her hometown tournament, in the third attempt.

"I made a lot of errors," said Williams, who had seven aces but made 59 unforced errors. "It was me. Every ball I hit I felt was out. It was so frustrating."

It was the eighth career title for Dementieva who had not beaten Williams in four previous matches.

Dementieva took control of the match when she won four straight games in the second set.

After Williams broke in the third set, Dementieva won six consecutive games to close the match.

"She played really unbelievable," Williams said. "She should try to play like that more often."

On the men's side, Nikolay Davydenko defended his title by beating Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 7-6 (9). This was the first title of the year for Davydenko, who also won the same tournament in 2004.

The top-seeded Davydenko, who won his first title of the season, also won here in 2004.

"I'm really happy to win today," Davydenko said. "Psychologically it was my most difficult win at the Kremlin Cup."

Dementieva - runner-up in 2001 and 2004 - said she was helped by playing in Moscow.

"It's an incredible feeling when you win at home," she said. "I knew that if I did not beat Serena today, it would never happen again. I just stepped on the court and played my tennis."