Ivanovic and Jankovic to face each other in Indian Wells
Ivanovic will take on Jankovic for a place in the final
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Friday, 21, Mar 2008 09:52
Serbian duo Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic will face each other in the semi-finals of the Pacific Life Open in California.
Both women won their quarter-final match-ups on Thursday night meaning the top four seeds in the women's draw have all made it through to the last four.
Ivanovic beat Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-1 6-4 while Jankovic beat home favourite Lindsay Davenport after the American was forced to retire with a back injury.
Top seed Ivanovic was in blistering form at the start of her match against Zvonareva, reeling off the first five games before her opponent could even get on the scoreboard.
At the start of the second set each player was broken once and Zvonareva appeared to have found her range, taking the Serbian to 4-4, before Ivanovic sealed a vital second break which allowed her to take the set 6-4.
Ivanovic said she hoped to build on her recent success and win her first tournament since September last year.
She said: "I know I have a game to beat anyone if I play well and if I do what I’m supposed to do out there. All these players that are in the draw, I beat them before, so obviously that gives me lots of confidence."
In the other quarter-final Jankovic had won the first set 6-2 in just 24 minutes when Davenport decided to retire.
The 31-year-old said she had felt the problem at the start of the match and was having problems rotating. Having experienced a similar injury before the veteran decided it was best to pull out of the match.
Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova will contest the other semi-final. Sharapova beat defending champion Daniela Hantuchova 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 in her quarter-final while Kuznetsova overcame Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-4.