Highest seed remaining ousted; three Russians, Slovenian into semis

One of the most biggest upsets at the Toray Pan Pacific Open occured on Friday, with Svetlana Kuznetsova ousting top seed Jelena Jankovic, who could've reclaimed the No. 1 spot had she won the tournament, in a thrilling three-setter.

Kuznetsova, seeded 5th in Tokyo, lost the first set, but didn't give up and went to win the match, 26 75 75.

"It was surely a good win for me today," Kuznetsova said. "I struggled to hold serve but I felt confident out there, so I was even serving and volleying a few times. I played the right tactics in the first set but I just couldn't find my way to the net; but I kept to my game plan in the second and third sets and the risk paid off, as I got more and more chances to approach, and I knew what I had to do."

"Svetlana played a very solid match; it was a close match at a high level and with a lot of volleying and long rallies, and unfortunately it went her way," Jankovic said. "The conditions were tough and it was probably warmer inside with the roof closed than outside, but we were both in the same situation so that's just the way it is. I played well at the US Open and it is challenging to keep the intensity up after such a big event. Again, it was a good match and Svetlana played well."

Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito was sitting among the crowd. Kuznetsova hit one ball to him and he caught it.

"His catch was very impressive," Kuznetsova said. "It was a great honor to play in front of the prince today and I hope he enjoyed our match."

"It was special to play in front of the prince," Jankovic said. "When we entered the stadium we did the curtsy. It is always an honor."

Elena Dementieva was the highest seed left in the draw, but after Day 5 had ended, she was unfortunately flying home, after losing to Katarina Srebotnik, 63 64.

"Elena is one of the best and most consistent players this year - she is Olympic champion and did very well at the US Open. This is a great win," said Srebotnik, who earned her fourth Top 10 win of the year, and the eighth of her career. "I was very solid on my serve and groundstrokes, and my doubles helped with my net game. The last time I was in the semis here was 2000, so this feels good."

"At first I wasn't too happy I was one out of the main draw but today's result shows it was certainly a good thing," Srebotnik added. "It just all came together today and my qualifying matches probably helped. This is probably the best tennis I've played for a very long time. I'm very happy to be in the semis."

No. 6 seed Agnieszka Radwanska was also ousted on Day 5, falling to Nadia Petrova 63 60.

"I'm very happy with my performance today; I'm glad I've continued to play well in Tokyo," said Petrova, who beat Ivanovic the day before. "After yesterday's win I came into this match with a lot of confidence, and this helped in the beginning of the match, where I was not 100% yet. I'm definitely ready for more."

Dinara Safina also passed her quarterfinal test, rallying past qualifier Kaia Kanepi, 64 67(5) 62.