Elena Dementieva takes women singles tennis gold

Russian tennis players don’t only look good, they can also win big. Elena Dementieva’s gold, Dinara Safina’s silver and Vera Zvonareva’s bronze Olympic medals in tennis women singles are a testament to that.

Sunday's Olympic finals were a deja vu for Elena Dementieva, who was in the same situation eight years ago in Syndey facing Venus Williams in the finals. In that decisive match, Dementieva lost her focus, conceding victory to Williams. But, she was on top of her game on Sunday night in Beijing, snatching a gold medal from compatriot Safina, in what Dementieva called the most important victory of her life.

Elena always comes across as a very shy, conserved person. For a long time, she claimed that tennis was all about sportsmanship and not about money for her. She also resents that winning an Olympic medal is rated lower  than winning a major tournament like Wimbledon in international tennis ranking system because it only serves to elevate the financial appeal of the sport instead of nurturing a true passion.