Jankovic to meet Stosur in semis after straight sets win to Kleybanova in IW

Jelena Jankovic and Samantha Stosur won their quarterfinal matches in straight sets on Thursday to set up an all-star semifinal clash at the $4.5-million BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Jankovic, the No.6 seed, was the first to advance, pulling off a 64 64 win over nemesis Alisa Kleybanova. Kleybanova, the No.23 seed, had taken out Kim Clijsters en route to the quarterfinals, and having won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title in Kuala Lumpur was riding an eight-match winning streak; but Jankovic was too tough, breaking early en route to taking the first set and rallying from 2-4 to dust it off.

"Kleybanova is a tough opponent. You never know what you're going to get from her. Sometimes I have her on the run and she comes up with some unbelievable shots," Jankovic said. "I tried to stay focused and play the best I could, and I was able to get through this match. I'm really, really pleased."

Jankovic hadn't been to a quarterfinal in 2010, let alone a semi; also, she was nearly bundled out of the third round here. But after escaping Sara Errani she has only gotten much better, now losing a total of only 12 games in her last two wins, against Shahar Peer in the fourth round and now Kleybanova.

"The more matches I play, the better I'm getting," said the Serb, whose good form has taken her to the No.1 ranking in the past. "That match against Errani was kind of a wake-up call. I was two points from losing the match. It wasn't my day. But I fought one point at a time and made it through. Then I was very aggressive against Peer. Today I did my best again and got through."

Stosur, seeded No.8, followed Jankovic into the semis with a 63 76(7) win over No.28 seed María José Martínez Sánchez. Stosur had to battle back several times in the second set - she was down 4-1 at one point, and even faced set point down 7-6 in the tie-break. But she managed to get through in straights, just like Jankovic.

"We had played a few times recently, and she's a player who just doesn't give you very much rhythm. She plays a little differently, as do I. She serves and volleys," Stosur said. "I just tried to give myself as many opportunities as possible, and when I got them I tried to take them, and towards the end of the second set I started to serve better and better. I think I handled it pretty well."


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Singles - Quarterfinals
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (23) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 64 64
(8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (28) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP)
63 76(7)