Dinara Safina stopped Jelena Jankovic’s quest for No.1 spot defeating the Serb 7-6 6-1 in the East West Bank Classic semifinals. Safina will face Italian Flavia Pennetta in the final.
If top-seeded Jankovic had won the tournament she would have occupied Ana Ivanovic’s No.1 spot in the rankings, but always-injured JJ lost the first set in the tie-break after which Safina quickly took the second set and completed her victory. “In the second set, I couldn’t go anymore. My legs were shaking a little,” said the world No.2 who entered the LA tournament with a left knee injury.
No.10 seed Pennetta will play her first Tier II final which she reached by overcoming Bethanie Mattek 3-6 6-2 7-5 in the final four.
As a big Jankovic fan, I was pretty bummed out that she lost to Safina, but Safina has been playing some great tennis. Plus, I think she’s riding on a huge confidence boost. I guess, though, as Jankovic said, her time will come soon enough. (hopefully)
Btw, great blog! I love how you focus on women’s tennis. I’ve added your blog as a favorite to my site. (I’m new to this blogging thing, so it was a great first step for me!)