Dementieva goes through

8:41pm Monday 25th August 2008

Fifth seed Elena Dementieva advanced to the second round at the US Open on Monday with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.

On a cloudy morning, Dementieva took to the Arthur Ashe Stadium brimming with confidence after winning the gold medal at the Olympics.

The Russian beat three current top-10 players en route to that title, downing Serena Williams and Vera Zvonareva before topping fellow Russian Dinara Safina in the gold medal match.

Dementieva did encounter some resistance from a virtually unknown opponent as the year's final major got under way. She fought off two set points in the second set at 4-5 down.

The 26-year-old Dementieva, who has won two titles this season and reached the semi-finals or better in eight of 12 events played, rifled 22 winners against Amanmuradova, who failed to keep her nerve at times. Amanmuradova committed 31 unforced errors in the match that lasted 88 minutes.

Fifteenth seed Patty Schnyder had a much tougher time than Dementieva in reaching the second round. The Swiss emerged with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 triumph over Anastasia Pivovarova.

New world number one Jelena Jankovic begins the quest for her first major championship Monday when she faces American wild card Coco Vandeweghe.