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BERLIN (AP) -Dinara Safina upset her third top-10 player at the German Open on Sunday and won the title by beating ninth-ranked Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The 17th-ranked Safina also recorded wins against No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 6 Serena Williams at the clay-court event.
The 22-year-old Russian overcame a slow start and dropped the first set - just like in her two other upsets - before her shots began to find the lines.
Safina took home ?127,000 (US$197,000) for the title Sunday, on Mother's Day in Germany.
"My mother can buy anything she wants," said Safina, whose mother watched from the stands. "She can walk into any store and I will pay for it."
The tournament's strong field included six of the world's top seven players, but failed to produce a French Open favorite after a rash of upsets. The Grand Slam tournament starts on May 25.
"You can put me on the list if you want too," Safina said, "But I don't know if I can keep playing like this. This week I played so good, starting with Justine, just so good."
Now she will fly to Rome on Monday, where the top players will play again.
"I can be the happiest person in the world, but I have to come down fast," Safina said.
Safina, the sister of two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin, has beaten top-10 players 11 times. She won her sixth title and first this year.
"She had a great week," Dementieva said. "Every year she gets better and moves closer to the top 10."
Dementieva ousted second-ranked Ana Ivanovic and No. 5 Jelena Jankovic, then ran into trouble against Safina when she hung back on the baseline in the second set.
"She was killing me in the first set," Safina said. "I said to myself, 'Oh no, I don't want to lose after this week.' Then I began to make my shots."
Dementieva, who lost out on her 10th title, has known Safina since they were children. She was coached by her mother.
"Since she was little she had worked so hard," Dementieva said. "Marat has gone so far, but he didn't work so hard."
