By Luís Santos
It was a sad day for Elena Dementieva as she was forced to retire from the semifinal of her favorite Grand Slam, after dropping the first set 7-6(3).
Elena was attempting to reach her third slam final, and second at Roland Garros, but after struggling with injuries all tournament it finally caught up with her as she conceded an easier ride to the final for gritty Franny Schiavone.
Elegant Elena actually served for a 5-3 lead holding 4-3 and 40-15 but it wasn’t meant to be as Schiavone turned things around to level the match at 4-all and eventually go up 5-4. As the players entered the tiebreak it seemed as if Elena would move up a gear going up 2-0, but she quickly let Francesca win six points in a row and eventually the Italian won the set.
After that Elena said goodbye to the tournament in a mist of tears and disappointment. Her fans feel the same.
Elena Dementieva forced to retire at the French Open 2010 semis
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