NEW YORK (AP) — Twelfth-seeded Elena Dementieva beat 24th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-2 Friday in the third round of the U.S. Open.
Dementieva, the 2004 runner-up at Flushing Meadows, has reached the semifinals three times but lost in the second round last year. The Russian missed Wimbledon with a left calf injury and has fallen out of the top 10 in the rankings for the first time in more than three years.
Hantuchova has not beaten Dementieva since 2005, not including retirements. The Slovakian reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open last year.
Dementieva converted all six break points Friday. Hantuchova was just 3 of 9.
