THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BERLIN -- Dinara Safina won the German Open on Sunday by beating ninth-ranked Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, the third top-10 player she knocked off en route to the title. The 17th-ranked Safina also recorded wins against No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 6 Serena Williams at the clay-court event. The 22-year-old Russian overcame a slow start and dropped the first set -- just like in her two other upsets -- before her shots began to find the lines. Safina took home US$197,000 for the win on Mother's Day. "My mother can buy anything she wants," said Safina, whose mother watched from the stands. "She can walk into any store and I will pay for it." The tournament's strong field included six of the world's top seven players, but failed to produce a French Open favourite after a rash of upsets. The Grand Slam tournament starts May 25. "You can put me on the list if you want too," Safina said. "But I don't know if I can keep playing like this. This week I played so good, starting with Justine, just so good." Now she will fly to Rome on Monday, where the top players will play again. "I can be the happiest person in the world, but I have to come down fast," Safina said. Safina, the sister of two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin, has beaten top-10 players 11 times. She won her sixth title and first this year. "She had a great week," Dementieva said. "Every year she gets better and moves closer to the top 10."
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