Amelie Mauresmo defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-2 0-6 6-1 in the semifinals of the Open GDF SUEZ. The other semifinal wasn’t played, as world No.1 Serena Williams pulled out of her encounter with Elena Dementieva.
Mauresmo handily won the first set 6-2, but Jankovic stormed back by winning seven games in a row to take the second set and lead 1-0 in the third. Jankovic, who is yet to impress with her game this year, lost all the following games and is now trailing Mauresmo 6-1 in head-to-head meetings.
Mauresmo’s next opponent will be Elena Dementieva, who was granted a walkover into Sunday’s championship match as top seed Serena Williams pulled out with a right knee injury.
Williams on her injury:
I wasn’t moving at all in practice, so there was really no chance for me to play today. I think I hurt it towards the end of my quarterfinal match. I guess I didn’t have enough time to recover.
Still, the American is optimistic about her recovery:
I’ve just been playing a lot of tennis, so maybe this is a sign I’ll need to take a day or two off and get ready for the next event, which is in two days. I’m going to make the effort to play there and do my best, and we’ll just see what happens.
Mauresmo vs. Dementieva head-to-head record is very interesting. They have played 14 times so far, and Mauresmo leads 8-6. It goes into Dementieva’s favor that she has won their last two meetings in straight sets. However, their only meeting at the Paris tournament, which was in 2003, was won by Mauresmo 6-0 6-0. It was the only double bagel loss of Dementieva’s career. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photos: Ralf Reinecke)
I want to wish everyone a happy Valentine’s Day
Thank you, Carlos. I hope yours was happy too.
Big congratulations to mauresmo. She was a better player. I am so sorry for Jelena. She is a brave player but her serve is not so good. But she played tennis, not like Serena.