BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Russians have wrapped up the women's singles gold and silver medals at the ongoing Olympic tennis tournament after Russian sixth seed Dinara Safina assured an all-Russian final on Saturday by edging out Chinese player Li Na in the semifinals 7-6(3), 7-5.
In the final, Safina will take on compatriot Elena Dementieva, who thrashed another Russian Vera Zvonareva in the other semifinal.
Two Russians have reached an Olympic singles final, namely Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who won men's singles gold, and Dementieva, who won women's singles silver, both in 2000.
"Li is a great player, but today maybe I was a little bit more lucky. It was like a 50 to 50 match, and she had many chances that she didn't take it. I took my chances. The score is 7-6, 7-5. It was very close. It was very fragile in this match," said Safina.
The world No. 6, who lost her quarterfinal doubles match at on Saturday, took the match on her second match point, having failed to convert seven of nine break opportunities in the second set.
The Russian's serve was her Achilles' heel. Safina served 12 double faults, including four in the sixth game of the first set and the same in the fifth game of the second.
Despite the less-than-stellar performance, Safina was able to muscle her way through to the final, showing why many believe she is the hottest player on the WTA Tour.
Safina has reached the final in six of her past seven tournaments. Her only blemish was at Wimbledon last month when she went out in the third round.
During this run, she made her first appearance in a Grand Slam final at the French Open. She is on a 15-match winning streak, having won the titles at Los Angeles and Toronto.
Li, the former top 20 player, made 69 unforced errors to Safina's 36.
"Last year she doesn't play for six months. This year she started the season unbelievable, but she was again unlucky. If she had been playing consistent for one year, you will see her in top 15," said Safina, who is making her Olympics debut in Beijing.
