Dementieva wins Paris final in three sets

PARIS, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Elena Dementieva rallied for a three-set victory Sunday in claiming the championship of the GDF Suez tennis tournament in Paris.

Dementieva, from Russia, dropped a first-set tie-breaker before taking a 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4 decision over Czech Lucia Safarova. It was the second match this weekend that Dementieva needed to come back from being a set down.

She's won two tournaments this year, having taken the Australian Open tune-up event in Sydney, and the win in Paris marked her 16th WTA title overall.

Both players were solid in the first set before Safarova took it in the tie-breaker but Dementieva allowed Safarova only 15 total points in dominating the second set. She lost only eight points over five service games in the third set.

Dementieva collected $107,000 with the tournament championship.