Istanbul, Turkey (AHN) - The clay-court warmup to next week's French Open turned into an anti-climatic one as Elena Dementieva won the Istanbul Cup on Saturday after her opponent, Aravane Rezai, pulled out of the finals match because of a knee injury.

Dementieva was leading their match 7-6, 3-0 when Rezai retired after her knee could not hold up any longer. She injured the knee in her semifinals match on Friday.

The Istanbul Cup win was the first singles title of the year for the Dementieva.

The Russian talked to reporters after her match.

"I feel pretty confident after this win," AP quoted her saying. "I feel really great. Hopefully, I'll continue to play well the next week."

Rezai's retiring from the match destroyed a brilliant run in the Istanbul Cup.

The French player defeated the tournament's No. 1 seed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals and she also upended Venus Williams earlier in the event.

Dementieva, who was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, reached the finals with a 7-6, 6-2 defeat of Alona Bondarenko in her semifinals match.