Jelena Jankovic going strong; meets Casey Dellacqua in the semis at Texas – Tennis News
Former world number one, Jelena Jankovic has finally got out of her bad patch and has cruised her way to the semi-final draw of the Texas Tennis Open on Wednesday. The current 34th ranked Serbian overpowered the eighth
seeded Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-1, to reach her fifth WTA semi-final of the running season with commanding authority.
Riding a 24-23 winning record for the year, the 27-year-old veteran finally defeated Cirstea in their third encounter to improve 1-2 in the head-to-head series against the 38th ranked Romanian.
Her form has been in a real slump this season, dropping to number 34 from the 14th spot in the WTA Premier Rankings since the beginning of the 2012 circuit. A part from featuring a title match in Birmingham, the Serbian
veteran has not shown any sublime touch in most tournaments, suffering early exits at the hands of the underdog opponents.
"I feel that I'm playing better and better with each match," Jankovic said. "I feel more comfortable, and I'm getting my confidence back. I really enjoy my time on court, competing and battling. I think I'm on the right track.
It feels good to play some good matches before the Open and get some good wins under my belt. It's tough to get up in the morning and train. When things are not working out, you've got to find a way to get back and the only way you're going to do that is by
working hard. I want to play some good tennis again, and I'm trying to do that.”
Second seed Jankovic has to go through her Australian age fellow, Casey Dellacqua, in the semi-final round of the Texas Tennis Open. The 106th ranked Aussie qualifier is through to her first semi-final after outplaying
the Canadian youngster, Aleksandra Wozniak, in twin sets, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarter-finals. Dellacqua registered a huge upset in the second round when she overcame the fourth seeded Belgian tennis ace, Yanina Wickmayer, 6-4, 6-3, to gain momentum in the tournament.
Albeit her brilliant run at Texas, Dellacqua doesn’t provide any serious threat to the second seeded Serbian in the semis. Jankovic has pounded the Aussie qualifier in all of the three encounters she had with her in the past. The
last victory for Jankovic came this season in Birmingham to give her a 3-0 clean sheet in the head-to-head record.
Now with Jankovic labouring to get back in her vintage form and Dellacqua having nothing to lose in her career’s first semi-final, the upcoming brawl is expected to be a nail-biter but the second seeded Serb remains the hot favourite
for winning.
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