Oct 8, 2005 2 min read

FILDERSTADT, Germany (AP) – Elena Dementieva ended Kim Clijsters’ bid for the top ranking, beating the U.S. Open champion 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 Friday in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix. Clijsters would have unseated Maria Sharapova at No. 1 by winning the event, but instead was dealt just her second loss in 29 matches by the eighth-ranked Dementieva.

“This was the best match I ever played. For me, Kim is the best player in the world – this will give me confidence for the future,” said the Russian, who lost two Grand Slam finals in 2004.

Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, trying to win the event for the third time, beat 12th-ranked Anastasia Myskina 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. In the semifinals, she faces Daniela Hantuchova, who topped Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-4,

Dementieva will face either fourth-ranked Amelie Mauresmo or ninth-ranked Nadia Petrova.

Clijsters, who will now have a 10-day break, said she felt tired even taking after a nap at the hotel before the match.

“I’m not disappointed at not becoming No. 1.” Clijsters said. “This was the best she ever played against me, but my body wasn’t up to it today. My footwork wasn’t the same as in the previous weeks and months.”

Dementieva lost her last seven matches against Clijsters, and her lone victory against the Belgian was in 2000. But she has been tough in third sets, going 40-14 since winning her first event at Amelia Island in 2003.

One of the tour’s hardest hitter, the 23-year-old Dementieva consistently hit shots down the lines that Clijsters couldn’t touch in winning the first set. She began to miss with some of those shots in the second, and the two players strung together some fierce rallies that had the spectators cheering and clapping.