BEIJING — Elena Dementieva has won the gold medal in women's singles at the Olympics by beating fellow Russian Dinara Safina.

Dementieva took advantage of Safina's serving woes to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 Sunday.

The No. 5-seeded Dementieva, who won the silver medal at Sydney in 2000, snapped Safina's 15-match winning streak.

A flurry of double-faults doomed the frustrated Safina. She flung her racket, broke it and smacked a ball into the stands, but the tantrums failed to help her serve. Dementieva also was steadier from the baseline.

The women's final began with only about a thousand spectators in the 10,000-seat stadium, but it was mostly full by the end 2› hours later.