Dementieva Uses Reverse Logic

Elena Dementieva’s expression and attitude hardly matched her quandary about an hour and a half into her match Friday afternoon at Indian Wells.

So what if she was one game from exiting in the semifinals against one of the best closers in women’s tennis, top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne?

“When I was 6-2, 5-2 down, I was like, ‘Welcome to Miami,’ ” Dementieva said, referring to next week’s event at Key Biscayne, Fla. “... I was having some fun, some lucky shots. I was smiling. My mom was angry with me. She said, ‘Are you playing semifinals or are you having some fun here?’ ”

Well, both. And she went on to do one other thing ... win.

The fourth-seeded Dementieva pulled off a stunning turnaround, defeating Henin-Hardenne, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in 2 hours 51 minutes, despite her usual spate of double-faults (14 this time). It was only her second victory in nine matches against Henin-Hardenne.

In today’s final, Dementieva will play Russian countrywoman Maria Sharapova, who defeated wild card Martina Hingis, 6-3, 6-3, in an earlier semifinal, derailing Hingis’ bid for her first title since coming out of retirement in January. Sharapova, seeded third, has lost once to Dementieva in four matches.

A costly concentration lapse at 5-2 in the second set, an injured right knee and Dementieva’s tenacity all contributed to Henin-Hardenne’s unlikely exit. She needed treatment, and tape, on the knee after losing the second set, and is considered questionable for the Nasdaq-100 Open next week.

“I really helped her come back in the match,” Henin-Hardenne said. “I don’t know, maybe I thought too early that the match was over. Just for one game I lost my concentration. Then she took the opportunities and the match turned completely.”

Henin-Hardenne, unprompted, said she never thought “about leaving the court” -- a not-so-subtle reference to her controversial Australian Open final in January, in which she retired against Amelie Mauresmo because of an upset stomach.

More drama had been expected from the Sharapova-Hingis semifinal, considering they had split their two meetings in 2006. But Sharapova came out strong, taking a 5-1 lead before the match was half an hour old. Her serve was subpar, but she turned in a satisfying performance in other departments, adapting to Hingis’ changing speeds and tactics, playing excellent defense and moving well side to side.

Then there was an inadvertent assist from a male spectator.

“In the second set, someone yelled, ‘Martina, she’s getting tired,’ ” Sharapova said. “That kind of pumped me up a little bit. I hit two winners in a row. I looked back and I’m like, ‘Tired, my butt.’ So don’t mess with a truck. You’re going to become a pancake.”

Sharapova hardly resembles a truck, but you get the idea. And, apparently, she sufficiently intimidated the guy.

“The funny thing is he started clapping for me after that. I think he got scared,” she said, laughing.

He wasn’t the only one smacked down by Sharapova. Her opponent was openly frustrated during the match, and it looks as if Project Hingis will need more time at the drawing board. She acknowledged her dissatisfaction at the inability to take the next step.

“Yeah, because it’s over and over the same thing,” she said. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve had a good win against [Lindsay] Davenport. I didn’t think I played the greatest match against [Dinara] Safina, but it was good enough.

“Today there’s not much more I could have done except like really having better stamina. But that’s not one thing that you can gain overnight.”

Hingis has played seven events, reaching one final, and she continues to struggle against the power hitters. Her most one-sided defeat (6-2, 6-0) was against Dementieva in the Tokyo final.

“Right now what I have to focus on is really the top 10 players,” Hingis said. “If I want to win an event like here, or Miami or a Grand Slam, that’s what you have to aim for.”