Predictions - Dementieva vs. Safina

An interesting match-up for this afternoon's all-Russian encounter between Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina.

In in blue corner, we have Dementieva, world #7, who has one of the best backhands in the women's game and some fantastic groundstrokes. Unfortunately, she's also famous for her mental fragility, as well as her weak serve.

In the red corner, we have Safina, world #6 and winner of of a few big events coming into the Olympics. She's very much in-form at the moment and her deep, penetrating groundstrokes have brought her once again to a major final event. However, match jitters have also plagued her game, resulting in some double-faults during crucial points.

One may think that Safina's power-play will be too much for Dementieva to handle but then again, Dementieva did take out world #4 Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

My prediction is for Safina to win, simply because she's the more in-form of the two players and much better prepared mentally.

Catch the match on Astro's CH818, which starts at around 2pm Malaysian time.