Who will be the new Number 1?

Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic won their quarterfinal matches on Tuesday while Svetlana Kuznetsova finished her opponent off with an easy win. One of the three will take the No 1 spot from Maria Sharapova next Monday.

It is guaranteed that there will be a new No 1 after Roland Garros. Because Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic both won their quarterfinal matches, there will be an all-serbian semifinal, and that will take the No 1 spot away from Maria Sharapova.

Ivanovic, the No. 2 seed, was the first player to head to the semifinlas with an easy 63 62 win over Patty Schnyder. After losing her first four meeting with the swiss, Ana has now won four in a row to get even.

"We had lots of tough matches in the past, and going out on the court I knew I had to work hard for every point because she doesn't give you any free points," Ivanovic said. "The score indicates a little bit easier match than it actually was. I was just very happy to close the match out in that last game because it started to rain a bit and I started to rush, as well."

"It was tough conditions, and she's such a good player," Schnyder said. "She's so tall and has much more power than me. In those conditions, and against that type of player, it's really tough for me to win. She also played smart and did not go for too much. She was really patient. And my spin wasn't disturbing her at all. She played a good match, and that's just how she won today."

Jelena Jankovic, the No. 3 seed, followed Ana Ivanovic into the semifinals with an identical 63 62 win over Carla Suarez Navarro. Suarez Navarro, the spaniard, stormed through into the last eight in the first Grand Slam main draw in her career.

"I didn't know my opponent really well, so I had to be really ready and really focused out there today," Jankovic said. "She has come a long way from the qualifying. Getting into quarterfinals is great achievement for her. I wanted to do the best job I could, and I'm happy to get to the semifinals."

On the inevitable handing over of the No.1 ranking - albeit not known to who - Ivanovic maintained she is focused on results first and foremost.

"That's something that comes naturally with the way you play, with the results you're making," the 20-year-old said. "I just want to play each match. I don't really want to think about rankings. At the end of the day, rankings take care of themselves. If you play well, if you're winning, the rankings come."

"It's more motivation; my dream is to become No.1 in the world, and now I'm very close, so I will try my best and hopefully I can do it," Jankovic said. "We're at the end of this tournament. We're coming to the finish line. Just a few more matches left. Hopefully I can fight very hard to achieve one of my dreams."

Kuznetsova will become No 1 if she wins the title, no matter who she plays in the final.

Ivanovic has a 5-1 record against Jankovic, but all matches turned out to be tough ones.

"We played many times before, and we always have tough matches," Ivanovic said. "It's going to be an interesting match. At least we'll have one Serbian in the final. Every match is a new match and I just hope to keep playing like I have."

"It's hard to read her shots, because she likes to play short points and just goes for broke most of the time," Jankovic said. "I've had troubles in the past against her, but I don't think we played on clay many times, so it's a different game and different circumstances. I think it will be a completely different match."


Kuznetsova demolishes Kanepi in easy quarterfinal match

After an easy 75 62 win over Kaia Kanepi from Estonia, the russian will play countrywoman Dinara Safina, who survived two match points against Elena Dementieva in the second set when it was 5-2, but won the match 46 75 60. Kuznetsova was down 2-4 in the first set, but broke back. The second set was closed out in 35 minutes.