I hope Jelena Jankovic finally proved to be worthy of occupying the No.1 spot in the rankings by winning her third title in 15 days (after China Open and Stuttgart). The top-seeded Serb prevented Russian Vera Zvonareva from scoring victory in a Tier I final for the first time.

Both players were competing in their sixth final of the year, but Jankovic was more successful, defeating the seventh-seeded Muscovite 6-2 6-4 and taking home her fourth title of the 2008 season.

On her way to the Kremlin Cup trophy and $196,900 in Moscow, the 23-year-old Jankovic defeated Vera Dushevina, Flavia Pennetta, third seed Elena Dementieva, and eventually Vera Zvonareva.

BTW: World No.4 Elena Dementieva said this about Jankovic's tennis: "Her defensive game is just phenomenal, and it's almost impossible to hit a good shot from the baseline because she can cover the whole court. No matter what shot you hit, she is able to get to it and hits everything back at you. It seems like she can cover not only a tennis court but a whole soccer field." (photo via Yahoo)

It's been a while since I last added a photo to my cute series about how women's tennis stars looked when they were kids. Today I decided to feature 22-year-old Dinara Safina, the in-form player of the year currently ranked third in the world.

Hehe, Dinara's gestures haven't changed much, compare this first picture with the very recent.

BTW: Safina has just lost 6-2 7-6(5) to fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

After the cut you can see little Dinara Safina with her family. Read more »

Top seed Jelena Jankovic defeated third-seeded Elena Dementieva 0-6 6-1 6-0 (what a score!) in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup.

Jankovic overcame a dreadful start to defeat the defending champion Dementieva. After being bageled in the first set, the Serb took 12 of the last 13 games to overcome the Russian in one hour 17 minutes and reach the final in Moscow.

Jankovic, who is now 6-3 lifetime against the Olympic champion Dementieva, is making only her second appearance at the Kremlin Cup. The first time she played in Moscow was in 2005 when she fell in the first round.

The world number one Jankovic is now just one step away from her third successive WTA singles title. Her next opponent will be Russian Vera Zvonareva who has just defeated compatriot Dinara Safina. (photo: Getty Images)

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. (source: BBC, photo: Getty Images)

Former world number one Martina Hingis is expected to headline this weekend’s Esurance Tennis Classic. It takes place at Harbor Point Tennis Club located in Mill Valley, California.

The five-time Grand Slam winner will join a line-up of men and women Grand Slam legends who will compete during the weekend Celebrity Pro-Am and World Team tennis Shoot-Out benefiting To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer Support Network & the Youth Tennis Advantage.

Hingis is still serving a two-year suspension for cocaine use, but is allowed to play exhibition events.

You can find more information about the Esurance Tennis Classic at www.tennisclassic.org. (via On the Baseline)

Jelena Jankovic and her boyfriend she met in August at the Beijing Olympics were spotted together in Belgrade’s restaurant Madera.

The relationship with Montenegrin water poloist Mladjan Janovic seems to be doing good on the tennis star, as Jelena has recently won two consecutive titles (Beijing and Stuttgart), and climbed back to the top of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings.

Love is good! (via Down the Line)

Seventh seed Vera Zvonareva progressed to the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup in her home Moscow with a dominant 6-1 6-0 victory over Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova. Also advancing was top seed Jelena Jankovic who beat Russian Vera Dushevina 6-7(6) 6-3 6-2.

Hantuchova scored only five points on Zvonareva’s serve! "I know that one can only have one or two such easy matches in a season," said the Russian.

Jankovic appeared to struggle with a hip injury, and could have lost in straight sets as the world No.77 Dushevina came from behind in the first set, and broke early in the second. But Jankovic stepped up a gear and defeated nervous Dushevina for a place in the quarterfinals.

Also progressing on Thursday were Nadia Petrova and Flavia Pennetta. Petrova's second-round opponent Caroline Wozniacki retired with breathing problems, while Italian Pennetta beat Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 3-6 6-4 6-4.

The quarterfinals are set: Jankovic vs. Pennetta, defending champion Dementieva vs. Petrova, Zvonareva vs. Cibulkova (the conqueror of Ana Ivanovic), and Kuznetsova vs. Safina. (via BBC, photos: Getty Images)

This hurts! Still no winning streak for former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic. The Serb suffered yet another early loss, this time to Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.

The fourth-seeded Ivanovic had a first round bye, and was upset 3-6 6-2 7-6 (4) right away in the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, falling to the world No.20 Cibulkova.

To make things worse, Ivanovic had two match points in the 10th game of the deciding set, but failed to convert them.

More bad news for Ana's fans: At the 2008 Kremlin Cup, Ivanovic played her first doubles match in tournament play since June 2007. On Wednesday, after her singles defeat, she also lost in the doubles competition, paired with Italy's Francesca Schiavone. They were beaten 6-2 4-6 10-7 by top seeds and world No.1s Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the quarterfinals. (via Ana Ivanovic's website, photo: ivanovic-ana.com)

For those of you missing Maria Sharapova, here's a little update on her latest activities.

The tennis star was seen shopping at the Westfield Shopping Center in Los Angeles recently. To see her on the tennis court, you will have to wait at least until January.

So, in the meantime, enjoy the shopping photos of the always-classy Russian. Read more »

The Australian Open might be in danger of disappearing, but they’re certainly not willing to give up.

Their aim is to take the Australian Open experience to a new level for both players and fans. Among other initiatives, record prize money will be offered in 2009.

The players at the Australian Open 2009 will be competing for a record AUD$22 million in prize money. The men’s and women’s singles winners will each win AUD$1.7m – an increase of more than 25 per cent.

The next Australian Open will take place from January 19th to February 1st, 2009. (source: Australian Open)