Tennis: Pe'er thrashed in Australian Open

The 20-year-old Israeli lost 6-2, 6-0 to Dementieva and was thoroughly outplayed in the 58-minute encounter.

By ALLON SINAI
Shahar Peer Australia (photo credit: AP)
Shahar Peer Australia
(photo credit: AP)
Shahar Pe'er was unceremoniously dumped out of the Australian Open on Friday, winning just two games in her third round match against world No. 11 Elena Dementieva. The 20-year-old Israeli lost 6-2, 6-0 to Dementieva and was thoroughly outplayed in the 58 minute long encounter. "I played really poorly," Pe'er said. "I prepared properly for the match, but I simply didn't play well. She played alright and was the more consistent player. I made all the mistakes." Pe'er was broken in the first game of the match and everything went downhill from there. "I'm very disappointed with my display. I came to win and couldn't do so. It's always disappointing to lose, but you have these days and I need to continue to work hard." Next up for Pe'er is Israel's Fed Cup tie against Russia at Ramat Hasharon on February 2-3. "I don't think this loss will affect the outcome of the Fed Cup tie," Pe'er said. "I'll come to Israel and make all the needed preparations and I'm sure that with the help of the Israeli crowd we will give our all." Maria Sharapova said on Friday that she's looking forward to facing Israel in the Fed Cup tie. "I'm so excited about this trip. It's one of my priorities for this year, along with competing in the Olympics," Sharapova said after her third round win over Elena Vesnina. "Ever since I've been watching the Olympics on TV and ever since I went to Moscow to watch the girls play in the final last year, watch them win, hear the anthem, it was really amazing. I'm looking forward to it." Russia won the title last year without Sharapova and will be a massive favorite at Ramat Hasharon. "I think we're expected to win, but we're not playing at home and that's never easy," Sharapova said. "As an individual, I take every match seriously, no matter who I'm going to play. I look forward to the challenges. And, like I said, the crowd is going to be on their side, and that's never easy." Dementieva, who will not be traveling to Israel with the Russia team, was ecstatic after her one-sided win on Friday. "I don't think I can play any better. I was very consistent throughout the match," she said. On Sunday, Pe'er and Victoria Azarenka, who are seeded 12th in the doubles tournament, face Emmanuelle Gagliardi and Patty Schnyder in the second round. Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich face No. 9 seeds Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Dlouhy in the third round of the doubles tournament on Sunday after claiming a comfortable victory on Friday. The Israeli duo, who are seeded eighth in the event, defeated Americans Scott Lipsky and David Martin 7-6 (4), 6-0 in the second round in Melbourne. Ram and Nathalie Dechy, who are seeded eighth in the mixed doubles tournament, advanced to the second round on Friday, defeating Sophie Ferguson and Adam Feeney 6-3, 6-4. Erlich and Chia-Jung Chuang, who are seeded sixth, play Jarmila Gajdosova and Samuel Groth in the first round on Sunday.