TENNIS in DEPTH.

Elena Dementieva’s U.S. Open tuneup was an overwhelming success. The No. 4 seed overcame an ugly first set to beat Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday in the final of the Rogers Cup. Dementieva’s steady play was too much for an error-prone Sharapova to handle in the first all-Russian final in tournament history.

A hardcourt specialist, Dementieva dominated No. 2 Serena Williams in the semifinal, and had a similarly easy time against former No. 1 Sharapova as she prepares for the U.S. Open, which gets underway Aug. 31.

Playing in her first final since a serious shoulder injury, Sharapova committed 10 double faults and had trouble with even the most routine shots.

Both players fought breezy conditions in front of a packed house at the Rexall Centre during a sloppy first set. It featured eight service breaks, 14 double faults and a number of easy shots hit long, or drilled into the net.

Dementieva went ahead 4-1 on the strength of two breaks – the first aided by three Sharapova double faults. But Sharapova saved three break points in the next game to hold serve, and closed within 4-3 when Dementieva double faulted to lose her service game.

Both players traded breaks before Dementieva finally finished things off, converting her third set point when Sharapova hit a forehand into the net.

The second set was a little tamer, with both players holding serve until the sixth game. Sharapova fought off two break points but fired a forehand into the net on the third to hand Dementieva a 4-2 lead.

That was all Dementieva needed, as she held serve throughout and clinched her 14th career WTA Tour title when Sharapova’s drop shot fell into the net on the third championship point.

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Uniformed volunteers at the Rogers Cup shush the crowd when the noise level rises, but most players welcome it, especially in multicultural Toronto with so many national favourites here.

“We are not in the theatre,” declared Serbian Jelena Jankovic of traditional tennis etiquette. “You need to get the crowd to enjoy it. People like to see nice personalities, good athletes and good tennis.

“They motivate you and give you energy at certain points of the match when you need the push.”

Serbian and Russian flags have been visible at the Rexall Centre this week and players are often greeted by their old-world first names.

“It’s not a big distraction,” insisted Russian Elena Dementieva. “I like to play the Federation Cup and the Olympics where people are allowed to express themselves.

“Tennis was the only sport where you had to be very quiet. People should come and enjoy the atmosphere. They have to be allowed to scream and to cheer between the points.”

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Bad line calls are rampant at the 2009 Rogers Cup. Surely in a land where eye checks are free as a part of OHIP it should be possible to find a group of judges with the necessary optical proficiency to be able to call a ball in or out correctly. As a group they are batting about 50%, which is a low number compared to other venues where the efficincy rate is usually above 90%. Whoever is making the selection of the line judges should understand that it is an important element of the game and as such should not be given out lightly to friends or relatives or tennis buddies. For a player it detroys their rhythm and leaves a lingering doubt in the mind, two additional factors a player can do without in a tight match.

Russian Alisa Kleybanova moved into the semifinals, to be played tonight, with a dramatic, marathon victory over Jelena Jankovic of Serbia that was filled with long points and challenges.

It took three hours and 16 minutes to complete. The match had some terrific rallies but the players also questioned calls by the line judges 21 times and were correct nine times. Kleybanova prevailed 6-7 (6), 7-6 (7), 6-2 and will face fellow Russian Maria Sharapova, a 6-2, 7-6 (5) winner last night over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.

“At this level, there shouldn’t be these mistakes,” complained Jankovic, who challenged 13 calls and was correct seven times. “There were so many bad calls.”

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After losing in the final of the Western and Southern Financial in Cincinnati, Dinara Safina headed to Toronto determined to put the loss behind her, and to prepare for the upcoming US Open. But the best laid plans have a habit of becoming unravelled as she lost to 22 yeard old Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Rezai has won only one WTA title in her career, in Strasburg earlier this year. She is currently ranked #39.

Her claim as the ‘best’ player in the world has to lose some of its credibility after such a loss, and the loss by yet another top player reinforces the opinion of many experts who maintain that the Women’s game lacks any true dominating player. Each week the relative fortunes of the top players changes like the weather.

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Tennis Canada is considering a radical change to the Rogers Cup starting in 2011, one that would see men and women play in Toronto at the same time.

But not all of the men and women.

The WTA Tour and ATP Tour are forcing Tennis Canada to play its men’s and women’s tournaments during the same week in two years’ time, and the sport’s national governing body wants to find a way to maintain its financial successes in both Montreal and Toronto.

So, it’s considering a “half-and-half” idea: having half the men and half the women play in Toronto, while the other half play in Montreal. Each city would get a final on the Sunday.

“We wondered if we could have two mini-combined events,” said Michael Downey, president and chief executive officer of Tennis Canada, adding the idea is still in its infancy. “It would be fundamental change for the players and the tours. It’s never been done before.”

As things are, tennis plays in brackets. The No. 1 seed leads one bracket, and the No. 2 seed leads the other. The two brackets don’t meet until the final.

“The (Saturday) afternoon semifinalist in Toronto flies that afternoon to Montreal in time to practise, and plays the final the next day,” said Downey. “The women’s semifinalist comes the other direction. The same scenario in doubles.”

Essentially, it’s copying a format used in World Cup soccer and world championship hockey, both of which use different fields and arenas until the final.

The WTA and the men’s ATP Tour, which want more combined events to build on the success of the four Grand Slams and a handful of other combined tournaments, are considering the idea.

“It’s incredibly innovative,” said Stacey Allaster, the Canadian CEO of the WTA Tour. “It’s cool, but this is professional sport and it’s a challenge.

“We’re always open to ideas that make sense. We have time (to make a decision).”

Some of the men’s players were asked about the idea last week in Montreal. Roger Federer said flying after the semifinal wouldn’t be an issue. Doubles players are troubled, if their usual partner finds himself or herself in the other city.

Players are also concerned about the courts not being identical and getting used to the ambience in a different city.

Currently, Tennis Canada alternates the men’s and women’s events between Toronto and Montreal, with the Toronto event being played the week after Montreal’s.

If the WTA and ATP ultimately consider the half-and-half solution too radical, then the women will play in Toronto and the men in Montreal the same week starting in 2011, in what Tennis Canada has taken to calling a “virtually combined” event.

The idea is that TV coverage would slide seamlessly between Toronto and Montreal.

Ultimately, Tennis Canada is pulling for the half-and-half idea.

“There’s a lot of discussion that still has to go on. It’s very complicated, and who knows whether we get approval,” said Downey. “But when you look at this sport, it’s defined by combined events.

“When you think of tennis, you think of men and women playing together in all the Grand Slams. It’s kind of neat: you have two combined events, which would be a new wrinkle for the sport.”

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Aleksandra Wozniak, the lone Canadian left in the draw was defeated today.

Wozniak dropped her first-round match 6-4, 6-4 to Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova in a sparsely attended afternoon match. The Blainville, Que., native, ranked 40th in the world, was broken three times in the first set and won only 52 per cent of her first-serve points.

Kleybanova, ranked 36th, broke Wozniak two more times in the second set on the way to the win.

The 21-year-old Wozniak was Canada’s best hope for a homegrown victory in the tourney, but her loss means that all four Canadians in the Rogers Cup draw were ousted in the first round.

No Canadian woman has won the Rogers Cup since Faye Urban beat fellow Canuck Vicki Berner in the 1969 final.

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Serbia’s Ivanovic and Denmark’s Wozniacki rallied against each other on a special tennis court that was laid down for the players on the world-famous street in a record time of five minutes. Ana and Caroline brought their A games to the street, awing tennis fans with amazing points in one of the world’s most exciting cities. With Street Tennis, Sony Ericsson was once again able to take the sport from the confines of the tennis court to a new audience and unexplored environment.

Ivanovic said: “Rogers Cup in Toronto is one of my favorite stops during the US Open Series. I won this event three years ago and it is always nice to be back in Canada. I was thrilled to have a chance to participate in the Sony Ericsson Street Tennis stunt with Caroline today. It is always exciting to be able to bring the sport of tennis to new audiences and we definitely had fun, taking people on the streets of Toronto by a huge surprise.”

Commenting on the experience, Wozniacki said: “I was thrilled to have an opportunity to participate in Street Tennis with Ana and very impressed with Yonge Street in this beautiful city of Toronto. The court was laid out for us in a record time and playing an impromptu tennis match with Ana was really fun. I am extremely excited about competing at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and participating in Street Tennis was a great way to kick off the tournament.”

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