Andrea Petkovic vs Jelena Jankovic – Semi-final Preview: Western & Southern Open 2011
Former world number one Jelena Jankovic will face German Andrea Petkovic during the semi final where the two will scratch it out for a berth in the final of the Western and Southern Open 2011. They will take up the gauntlet for
the third time in their career on the hard courts of the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
The two have an idea of each other’s style and performance, as they had contested twice earlier this year. Their first meeting was at the Sony Ericsson Open held in Miami, Florida, during the quarter final where Petkovic outfoxed
the Serb (Jankovic) in three sets; hence, she was one up on the Serbian. Jankovic was given a chance to equalize the head-to-head at the Stuttgart Open but alas! Unable to win in their last run Jankovic was put shame, whilst Petkovic was enjoying her head-to-head
lead at 2-0.
Jankovic has an impressive 10- 3 win-loss career mark on the hard courts of Cincinnati and is accustomed to the hard courts here, as she has competed in this event 4 times. She finally took the tiara home during the summer hard
court season in 2009, when she took down Dinara Safina in straight sets of 6-4, 6-2. Although, she hasn’t bagged a single title this year, Jankovic has competed in 9 hard court events this summer. Having contested in 24 matches, she was able to win 16 and
lost only 8.
While, Petkovic has contested at Cincinnati only once prior to this event, she was unable to shine as her story was cut short in the second round by Maria Sharapova. Nevertheless, she has competed in 8 hard court events and has
made it to the semi finals of most of them. A runner up at Brisbane, she lost to Petra Kvitova and at the Australian Open she defeated Maria Sharapova in the fourth round only to lose to Li Na in the quarter final. Miami, Carlsbad, and Toronto saw Petkovic
lose in the semi final. It’s only when she’s facing her kryptonite, Maria Sharapova or Agnieszka Radwanska that she fails to deliver her best. Hallelujah! she isn’t facing either of them in the semi finals.
A post analysis of their performance on hard courts suggests that Petkovic and Jankovic are two very competitive players; however, if Jankovic manages to surpass her mental and psychological block, she might just win the match.
Mean while, given the upper hand that Petkovic has and her new found confidence, along with, a strong synchronization of the body movement and her forearm, she might up her lead against the 26-year-old (Jankovic).
Petkovic takes the edge with her consistent performance against Jankovic and is predicted to exceed the former world number one in three sets.
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