Defending champion and second seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Kremlin Cup here yesterday, the Serb defeated 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-finals by local hope Alisa Kleybanova.
Defending champion and second seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Kremlin Cup here yesterday, the Serb defeated 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-finals by local hope Alisa Kleybanova.
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The Russian, registering her second win over Serbia's Jankovic, ninth in the WTA rankings, said: "I'm really happy to win today.
The 20-year-old Muscovite looked confident and motivated from the start, breaking twice in the opening set for a 1-0 lead in 50 minutes, while former world number one Jankovic managed to reply only on one occasion.
In the second set Kleybanova, who is 27th in the WTA rankings, confirmed her firm intention to advance into the last four, producing two more breaks to win the set and the match in one hour 25 minutes.
Kleybanova will now meet Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who beat Vera Dushevina of Russia 6-3, 6-0.
Italy's veteran Francesca Schiavone, seeded eight, beat Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-2 in another quarter-final.
"I wasn't sure before the start of the match that I could win today," Schiavone said. "Maria (Kirilenko) is a very serious opponent. And she performs very good playing at the end of the season. She was fighting for every point and I managed to win only because I forced myself to play an aggressive style."
In the semis, Schiavone meets Alona Bondarenko, who beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6-3 in their last eight clash.
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