Jelena Jankovic beats Anastasija Sevastova to qualify for semi-finals of Monterrey Open 2011
Top seed Jelena Jankovic crushed Latvian Anastasija Sevastova with a 6-1, 7-5 victory in the quarterfinal of Whirlpool Abierto Monterrey Open 2011 on Friday.
The 26-year-old Jankovic looked to dominate right from the start. She outclassed her opponent in nearly all aspects of the game. The Serbian converted 80 per cent of the first serve points and won 4 out of 5 break points.
The first set was a straightforward 6-1 affair for the world number 6 as she required just seven games to get her nose in front and lead 1-0 on the scoreboard.
In the second set, Sevastova posed more serious threats to the Serbian. But Jankovic gave her a considerable run for her money through her stunning forehands and backhands. She made the required serve break in the set to seal the match 6-1, 7-5 in just 1
hour and 11 minutes.
Jankovic has now reached her third straight semi-final of the 2011 season despite a dismal start. Earlier this year at Medibank International, she was knocked out in the first round of the tournament. She then continued her miserable form at the Australian
Open losing in straight sets to Chinese Shuai Peng. However, the Serbian bounced back brilliantly by reaching the semi-final at Dubai Tennis Championships where she lost to the world number one Caroline Wozniacki. She then carried over her decent form in the
Qatar Ladies Open as well where her run ended in the semi-final at the hands of world number three Vera Zvonareva.
On the other hand, Anastasija Sevastova must be disappointed with her performance. She had her chances in the match but was unable to convert them. The world number 38 produced numerous unforced errors including three crucial double faults.
It was the first tournament of the year for Latvian since the Australian Open where she surprised the tennis world with her upset win over Yanina Wickmayer. Sevastova came back from a set deficit earlier in her second round match to book a quarterfinal berth.
However, in the quarterfinal she fell short against a top player who played admirable tennis.
Jankovic is now set to face eight-seeded Polona Hercog of Slovenia, who defeated Belarusian Olga Govortsova 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. She is yet to drop a set in this competition and faced limited resistance from her opponents. The former world number one won her last
Women’s Tennis Association title almost a year ago and is hoping to cash in on the opportunity at the Whirlpool Monterrey Open.
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