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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 6:12 a.m., Sunday, May 11, 2008

Tennis: Safina beats Dementieva to win German Open

Associated Press

BERLIN — Dina Safina pulled off her third upset of a top-10 player in a week at the German Open, winning the title today by defeating ninth-ranked Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

The 17th-ranked Safina also beat No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 8 Serena Williams at the clay-court event.

The 22-year-old Russian overcame a slow start and dropped the first set — as in her two other upsets — before her shots began to find the lines.

Safina claimed her sixth WTA Tour title and first this year at the French Open warm-up tournament. She won $197,000 on Mother's Day.

"My mother can buy anything she wants," said Safina, whose mother was at the event. "She can walk into any store and I will pay for it."

The 22-year-old Safina, the sister of two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin, now has beaten top-10 players 11 times.