Jelena Jankovic overpowers Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-final battle – Texas Tennis Open 2012
Former world number one from Serbia, Jelena Jankovic, rallied past Sorana Cirstea in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, in the quarter-finals of Texas Tennis Open held on Wednesday. The Serbian took nearly 60 minutes to defeat her
opponent and reached the final-four of the WTA event in Texas, USA.
Jankovic told the media, “I feel that I'm playing better and better with each match. I feel more comfortable, and I'm getting my confidence back. I really enjoy my time on court, competing and battling. 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. You can't just sit in bed and wait for things to fall from the sky. I want to play some good tennis
again, and I'm trying to do that.”
The second seeded Serbian displayed an excellent performance throughout the set, picking momentum with every game. Cirstea was powerless in front of her competitor’s fiery serves and Jankovic nudged score line of 6-2 lead
to finish off the opening set proceedings.
The Romanian banged in two aces and even double faulted twice. She had an average first serve percentage of 54, converting 11 of 13 first and one of 11 second deliveries. On the other hand, the 27-year-old Serbian was unable
to hit any ace in the initial set whereas double faulted twice. She had a relatively high serve percentage of 60, bagging 13 of 15 first and four of 10 second reply points in the opening.
Cirstea started the second set and managed to hold her serve moving ahead 1-0. However she was unable to maintain the level of her game later on and 34th ranked 34th Jankovic pounced forward to take
advantage of the situation, claiming the win with a 6-1 score.
The 38th ranked Romanian underdog double faulted five times at critical moments during the match. She had a low first serve percentage of 42, pocketing six of 11 first and four of 15 second deliveries.
Jankovic smashed a single ace in the final set, with a first serve precision of 47. The right-hander grabbed six of nine first and seven of 10 second serve points.
Jankovic will contest against Casey Dellacqua of Australia in the semi-finals of the Texas Tennis Open on Friday afternoon.
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