Mon Feb 25 12:05:49 2008

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Dementieva opens with a win in Dubai

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sports Network) - Two-time major runner-up Elena Dementieva was among Monday's first-round winners at the $1.5 million Dubai Tennis Championships.

The eighth-seeded Dementieva drove past Swiss lefthander Patty Schnyder 7-5, 6-0 on the hardcourts at Dubai Tennis Stadium. The Russian Dementieva will face Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko in the second round.

In other opening-round action, Bondarenko overcame Russian Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Russian Dinara Safina subdued Tunisian wild card Selima Sfar 6-1, 6-3.

This week's top seeds -- Belgian Justine Henin, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serbian stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic -- all received first-round byes. Henin is the two-time defending champion here, having beaten France's Amelie Mauresmo in last year's Dubai finale and Russian Maria Sharapova in the 2006 title bout.

Sharapova, seeded fifth this week, is also part of the powerful field here. The Aussie Open champ is off to a perfect 14-0 start this year, including a title in Doha last week.

Seven of the top-10 players in the world are in this week's 28-player draw. The 2008 Dubai titlist will collect $250,000.