Venus and Serena Williams to Clash in Bangalore Open Semifinals, Jankovic Upset
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Mar 7, 2008 | Print | Email | Bookmark | Free Subscription
Venus and Serena Williams will battle for the fifteenth time in their distinguished careers on Saturday at the Bangalore Open.
With the sisters tied head-to-head 7-7, the expectations are high in their first meeting since the 2005 US Open.
Venus Williams won that fourth round encounter in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-2.
The biggest surprise on Friday happened when unseeded Zi Yan defeated top seed Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in just over two hours of match-play. It was only the second Top 10 victory of Yan’s career.
Second seed Venus advanced into the semifinals first in Bangalore with a routine 6-4, 6-3 win over seventh seed Vera Zvonareva. The reigning Wimbledon champion had a tough bout on Thursday against Peng Shuai before shutting down the Chinese double-hander in three sets 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2.
Serena, who is seeded third in her debut at the Bangalore Open, knocked out Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 6-4 to set up a match against her older sister.
The winner of the highly anticipated Williams semifinal will play either Patty Schnyder, who defeated Akgul Amanmuradova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), or Yan in the final match.
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Richard | Mar 7, 2008 | Reply
Yan Zi defeated Ivanovic and Jankovic last year (at Toronto and Bangkok, respectively, so this should be her third top ten?) She also beat Marion Bartoli as well, not sure if she’s at No.11 or No.10 at the time so it might be Yan’s fourth top 10 victory.
And I sooo called Yan to shake up the draw!
Maybe she’ll win the whole thing! Schnyder is beatable by anyone and the sisters might wear each other out on the other side.
Aaress | Mar 7, 2008 | Reply
Hi Richard,
The Tour’s match notes only showed one Top 10 win for Yan, so I assume that they did not count her win over Jankovic last year because it ended in a retirement. Bartoli was ranked at No. 11 when she beat her in Toronto.
Steve Pouliot | Mar 7, 2008 | Reply
Why aren’t the William sisters playing at the Pac Life open?
Aaress | Mar 9, 2008 | Reply
Steve,
Venus and Serena Williams have not played at the Pacific Life Open since 2001, because of prejudiced reactions from some members of the crowd.
This USTA article helps explain why they boycott the tournament every year.
http://www.usta.com/communitytennis/fullstory.sps?iNewsID=159526&itype=&iCategoryID=
Steve Pouliot | Mar 9, 2008 | Reply
Aaress, Thanks alot for info.