THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STUTTGART, Germany -- Olympic champion Elena Dementieva lost to 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-1 Friday in the Porsche Grand Prix quarter-finals.
Azarenka, grunting loudly on almost every point, saved a set point in the first set and improved to 1-2 against the fourth-seeded Russian.
"We had many long rallies," Azarenka said. "I tried to fight for every ball. I played very well."
Azarenka will next play another Russian, Nadia Petrova, who beat Li Na of China 6-2, 6-3. Petrova, the 2006 champion in Stuttgart, clinched the match with an ace.
.Azarenka is ranked No. 17 has yet to win on the tour. Dementieva has 10 career titles and has returned to her highest ranking of No. 4, which she reached three years ago.
Dementieva's many errors in the third set allowed Azarenka to race to a 5-0 lead. Dementieva saved three match points to win her first game, but then committed two straight errors and netted a backhand to lose after nearly three hours.
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