Serbian stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic will do battle on Thursday in the semifinals of the 2008 French Open.
At stake is a berth in Saturday’s championship match and ultimately, the world number one tennis ranking.
Ivanovic was the first player to reach semifinals Wednesday with a solid 6-3, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder. Jankovic ended Carla Suarez Navarro’s Cinderella run to the quarterfinals in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Seeded No. 2 and 3, Ivanovic and Jankovic have met six times in the past, and Ivanovic holding a 5-1 lead over her older countrywoman. Jankovic’s lone win came two years ago in 2006 at Los Angeles on a hard court.
Both Ivanovic and Jankovic have a chance to end Roland Garros as the incoming world number one.
If either of the Serbians wins the title, she will automatically become No. 1 when the latest rankings are published on Monday.
Also, if the winner of their semifinal meeting loses the final to any player, other than Svetlana Kuznetsova, she will still have enough ranking points to pass up current No. 1 Maria Sharapova.
It was a good performance today by Ana. It was also nice to see her looking like she was enjoying herself.
I think Ana will beat Jelena quite comfortably in the semi final.
The winner of this match win win the tournament I think. I hope it’s Jelena , i’m glad she said her arm isn’t in pain anymore. This match should be a battle.
[...] matches will be one country affairs. Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic have guaranteed that a player from Serbia will reach Saturday’s championship match, and either Safina or Kuznetsova will play for [...]