Wozniacki beats Jankovic to reach Dubai final

Caroline Wozniacki reached her first final of the year by beating Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-3 for the first time in the Dubai Championships on Saturday.

Wozniacki, who will retake the No. 1 ranking on Monday from Kim Clijsters, will face the winner of the late semifinal between Italian Flavia Pennetta and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The top-seeded Wozniacki fell behind 3-0, 4-1 and 5-3 in the first set. She summoned her father Piotr courtside at 3-0 down.

“He just kept encouraging me,” she said. “He said ‘No worries. You just made a few mistakes out there that weren’t necessary but just keep your feet moving.’ I know these things already. But it’s just nice. Just calms me down a bit.”

The sixth-seeded Jankovic, who came from behind in her two previous matches, served for the set at 5-3 but missed four set points and hit long to drop serve. Wozniacki reeled off the next three games to win the set.

“I just kept fighting,” Wozniacki said. “I had a good feeling going into the match even though I started off a little slower today. She started off well and I made a few mistakes. But then I felt like I started to hit the ball really well. I was thinking if she wins this match it’s just too good because I’m starting to feel this right now.”

In the second set, Wozniacki settled into long rallies and relentless chasing to wear down the eighth-ranked Serb whom she had not beaten on four previous occasions.

After Wozniacki broke for 3-2, Jankovic asked for a medical timeout for a blister on her left foot. She returned to break back only to see Wozniacki return the compliment, and win the next two games.

“It was tough. I had a lot of opportunities in that first set, and I kind of let them slip a way,” Jankovic said. “I let her rally, you know, in those points. There were some really long rallies that suit her. She was, you know, the better one at the end. She was just too solid.”

Jankovic, who climbed back to No. 2 after Wimbledon, was hampered by injuries in the second half of 2010, and was encouraged by making her first semifinals since the French Open last June.

“This tournament gives me a lot of confidence,” Jankovic said. “It shows that I’m still up there and that I can beat top players and go pretty far in tournaments.”