From The Herald Sun: Dream time for Russia's busy bee
IT IS nothing personal, but Russian Elena Dementieva is glad she hasn't seen much of Pat Rafter's former trainer Mark Waters this week.
Dementieva set herself up for a solid 2006 with punishing training sessions in Melbourne last January with Waters.
That was because she had plenty of free time after a "nightmare" first-round loss at the Australian Open to Germany's world No. 80 Julia Schruff.
Yesterday, Dementieva, the seventh seed, outclassed unseeded Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-1, 6-3 to move closer to a potential quarter-final showdown with defending champion Amelie Mauresmo.
"I had to play Tokyo last year (a week after after the Australian Open) and it was a nightmare to have to stay here and watch all the matches, but the hard fitness work I did with Mark helped me win the Tokyo final," Dementieva said.
"When I came here this year, I told him: 'If I'm going to lose first round again, make sure you're around so we can work together'.
"But I didn't want to spend another (Australian Open) like last year, so I came to Sydney (where she lost in the second round to China's Na Li) first this year and got a couple of matches. I'm playing well now."
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