Second seed Elena Dementieva and third seed Jelena Jankovic advanced to the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Dementieva played Agnes Szavay in the second round and despite being 4-1 behind in the first set, the Russian battled back to win the set in the tiebreak. Dementieva then cruised through the second set, but needed five match points to seal victory.
“I am still finding my feet on clay court. It is my first tournament of the year (on clay) and my footwork needs to improve,” said Dementieva, who will next face Marion Bartoli, the winner over Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.
Defending champion Jelena Jankovic overcame Germany’s promising player Sabine Lisicki, who won Family Circle Cup this month, and beat 20th-ranked Patty Schnyder in the previous round in Stuttgart. The world No.42 Lisicki took Jankovic to three sets, but the Serb won 7-5 5-7 6-3 after two hours and 13 minutes of play.
Jankovic will encounter Flavia Pennetta or sixth seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)
Leave a Reply