In-form Jelena Jankovic moves into Kremlin Cup semifinals along with three Russians

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World number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia is on a good way to her third consecutive WTA singles title as she reached the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup with a 7-6(6) 6-3 win over Italian Flavia Pennetta.

The world No.18 Pennetta led 3-0 in the tiebreak but then lost momentum by double-faulting. The Italian had another chance; in the second set she could have went 4-2 up during a game of 12 deuces, but top-seeded Jankovic prevailed.

Jankovic’s next opponent will be defending champion and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva who beat fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 6-4 4-6 7-6(6) to reach the last four.

Here’s what third-seeded Dementieva said about Jankovic’s current form: “She is the strongest player in the world. She’s playing terrific tennis and has just won back-to-back titles on different surfaces and in different parts of the world. It won’t be an easy match. It will be interesting for me to challenge her.”

In the other two quarterfinals second seed Dinara Safina defeated fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 7-5, and seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva beat Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova 7-5 6-4 to ensure her first semifinal in her hometown event, after playing five quarterfinals.

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