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Jankovic sets up Wozniacki clash

DUBAI - Jelena Jankovic dug deep to account for Australia’s Sam Stosur here on Friday and book a semi-final spot against newly-crowned world number one Caroline Wozniacki.

The Serbian star, 25, claimed the first set 6-3 before Stosur battled back to take the second 7-5 and surge clear at 4-1 in the third.

However, Jankovic – who was pushed all of the way by Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi (2-6, 6-3, 7-5) on Thursday evening in the last 16 too – staged a rousing recovery to seal her passage determinedly in a nerve-jangling tiebreaker.

“It was an amazing match,” the sixth seed reflected after overcoming her fourth-ranked opponent.

“I was up a set and I had a lot of chances in the second set, but she played a couple of great points and had some luck as well.

“I was down 3-0 and 4-1 in the third set, so it was really hard for me. I was a little bit tired on the court and I felt that I almost had no gas in the tank.

“But, with a positive attitude, I kept saying to myself: ‘Just keep going one point at a time’ and that’s what I did.

“I was able to somehow stay tough, never gave up and I came out as the winner, so I’m really happy with my performance overall. There were a lot of ups and downs, but the win is the most important thing.”

Jankovic is seemingly relishing the tough clashes she is encountering in this high-class competition, having endured a year blighted by numerous injuries in 2010.

“I was looking for this kind of beginning and I needed to start somewhere,” ‘JJ’ said. “I haven’t played many matches and had a lot of injuries in the past, so I needed to: get myself going and on track again; show that I can perform and how well I can play; how well I can handle the situations, be mentally tough and really hang in with the top players. That’s what I did.

“I really have that drive, hunger and fire in my belly again. I was a little bit flat in the past and didn’t have the energy and got down on myself.

“Now though, even when the challenges and times are tough, I’m still enjoying the battle and really grinding through. I’m having fun and that’s what matters. “Everything is possible and – if you believe in yourself, keep working and you’re healthy – things can come good and you can come out as a winner. It can make you much stronger than in the past.

“I’m really proud of myself with how well I’ve handled the situations so far in this tournament and look forward to playing on Saturday.”

Jankovic has a surprisingly good record against Wozniacki, leading 4-0 in their head-to-head statistics, but she understandably isn’t expecting an easy route through to Sunday’s final.

“It’s going to be a tough match and there’s no doubt about that,” Jankovic admitted. “She’s a really solid player, who doesn’t give away many free points. You have to really work hard for every point and be strong and solid.

“Hopefully, I will be okay physically and I can play my tennis. We’ll see what happens.”

alex@khaleejtimes.com