Miami, Apr 02: Venus Williams is out of the Nasdaq 100, beaten by Elena Dementieva and an injury. The fifth seeded Dementieva got off to the more consistent start and could have won in straight sets but failed to close out the match when serving at 5-4 in the second. The Russian's concentration faltered as Williams broke again at the start of the third set and while Dementieva retrieved the break Williams had a chance to serve out the match at 5-3. Four double faults in that game let Dementieva back in and the Russian finally sealed victory in the tiebreaker, taking her first match point when a Williams's forehand sank into the net. The Miami event is Williams's fourth tournament of the season and she has yet to get past the quarter-final stage after missing the second half of last year with abdominal injuries.



Dementieva moves on to play eighth seed Nadia Petrova in an all Russian semi-final on Friday after her compatriot proved far too strong for Nathalie Dechy, beating the Frenchwoman 6-2 6-2.


Bureau Report