Mom's the word for the champ

Dubai: She may have been crowned the new champion at the end of the women's competition, but Elena Dementieva knew where credit was due as she paid the most glowing compliments to her mother Vera.

"She is the most important person in my life and all that I have today I owe it to her," Dementieva told a packed media room after her three-set win over fellow Russian and tournament favourite Svetlana Kuznetsova on Saturday.

Vera, a teacher by profession, has been listed as Dementieva's coach on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. And she travels with her daughter as often as possible.

The bond between mother and child is evident even on court as Dementieva keeps on looking in her mother's direction in between playing points.

Real pleasure

"I love to see her smiling and it is a real pleasure for me to see that she is happy," Elena said.

Dementieva's father is an electrical engineer and older brother Vsevolod is a university student. "She has sacrificed so much for my sake and I know that she is more tense than I am," she joked.