Ivanovic, Jankovic, Henin, Sharapova in RG semis

June 5, 2007

Seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic was the first one to reach the final four. She defeated the last year’s French Open finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0 3-6 6-1. Federer was definitely wrong when he said that Kuznetsova will take the trophy this year.

The rising 19-year-old from Serbia said that she has improved her physical fitness and that now she has more experience which helped her to be calmer in the match against Kuznetsova. Ivanovic will play Maria Sharapova for a place in the final.

Roland Garros was the one Grand Slam tournament in which Sharapova had never reached the semifinals — until Tuesday. In the quarterfinal match against Anna Chakvetadze, there was no evidence of Maria’s problems with the right shoulder. Maria, seeded second, scored the victory in straight sets 6-3 6-4.

“I really didn’t know what to expect from [the shoulder],” Sharapova said. “I thought it was going to be worse than it was, so after the match, especially, I’m very pleased. But I wouldn’t say I’m surprised or shocked by the situation.”

I should mention that Sharapova last played Ivanovic in Tokyo back in February but retired with a hamstring injury trailing 1-6, 1-0. “She’s had some good success this clay-court season,” Sharapova said. “It will definitely be a very tough match.”

Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic continues to be the most successful WTA player this year. She has now won 44 of 54 matches. In the quarterfinals she beat sixth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-3 7-5.

In the semis Jankovic will play the defending champion and top-seeded Justine Henin, who overwhelmed Serena Williams 6-4 6-3 to set up a semifinal against the Serb. They played five times till now and all their matches were three-setters. Even though J.J. won the first set four times, she has never defeated the Belgian. Maybe it’s time for her to do it now.

Jankovic, despite her recent success, still has a reputation of being something of a head case. “I will focus on my objectives, and whether or not she buckled under pressure, I mean, it doesn’t matter,” Henin said. “You might think that’s an asset for me, the fact that she’s psychologically weak, but I don’t pay attention to that. I will have to be cautious, in fact.” (source: ESPN)