One day Jelena Jankovic is pummeling her opponents, like in Thursday's match with Venus Williams, and the next day she is hanging on by a thread, like today. Serena Williams held a match point against the Serbian in their semifinal match in Rome, but JJ gritted her way to a huge victory to reach her 2nd final of the year. Serena served for the match twice in the final set and had a 5-2 lead in the 3rd set tiebreak, but Jankovic proved that no lead is ever safe, bringing herself back into the match and eventually coming out on top. “To beat both Williams sisters in two days is really amazing,” said Jelena. “I’m really proud of myself. It doesn’t happy too often.” Serena, though, felt like it was her match to win, telling the press, “I wasn’t playing the points right. I feel like I should have won, could have won. I think I had an apple in my throat, but it is what it is.”
Jelena's final round opponent will be someone no one expected, as Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez had an easy time beating Ana Ivanovic, the story of the tournament, in their semi. Ivanovic struggled mightily with Martinez Sanchez's serve and volley approach, along with her varying slices, which caused the Serb to make many mistakes.
The Spaniard is ranked 26th, and following her 6-4, 6-2 victory, is guaranteed to improve her ranking by several spots. Ivanovic has slipped all the way down to 58th, but will also be assured of a significant ranking increase after her surprisingly impressive showing in Italy.
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