Dementieva beats Kuznetsova to win Dubai title

By Barry Wood

DUBAI (Reuters) - Elena Dementieva defeated second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6 6-3 6-2 in an all-Russian final at the Dubai Championship on Saturday to win her ninth career title.

It was the eighth seed's first trophy since she won in Moscow in October while Kuznetsova suffered her second defeat in the final here, having also lost to Justine Henin in 2004.

"I feel so happy," Dementieva told reporters. "This was my first time at this event and it is such a big win.

"I think it was a great match and I played probably my best match for a long time."

Both players struggled to gain an advantage in a closely-contested opening set of long baseline rallies that produced seven breaks of serve.

Kuznetsova went 2-0 ahead but lost the next three games before winning the following three to lead 5-3.

Dementieva, striking her forehand to good effect, broke as Kuznetsova served for the set, only to drop her own serve for the fourth time in the next game.

The second set was also close with Kuznetsova attempting to come to the net more while Dementieva's pace forced a number of errors from her opponent.