Ana Ivanovic’s preparations for the defense of her French Open title suffered a setback as she was defeated 6-1 3-6 6-4 by Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round. Interestingly, the Serb was leading 4-0 in the third set, but the tenth-seeded Radwanska won six games in a row to advance to the quarterfinals.

World number one and top seed Dinara Safina almost joined Ivanovic in saying goodbye to Rome, but she fought back from a double break down in the third set to beat Chinese 14th seed Zheng Jie 5-7 6-1 7-6 (3) in a thrilling third-round match.

Third seed Jelena Jankovic, who is aiming for her third consecutive Internazionali BNL d'Italia title, felt good on the court and was leading 6-1 1-0 when her opponent Kateryna Bondarenko retired with illness.

Svetlana Kuznetsova is continuing her good period with a 6-3 3-6 6-0 victory over Flavia Pennetta, while Patty Schnyder, who upset self-proclaimed world No.1 Serena Williams in the previous round, fell to seed No.16 Kaia Kanepi 6-3 6-0. Victoria Azarenka advanced by beating Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-2. Also, notice that world No.48 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who upset No.11 seed Marion Bartoli in the second round, today defeated No.8 seed Nadia Petrova 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4. The last to join the quarterfinals was Venus Williams who defeated Anna Chakvetadze 6-0 6-7(8) 6-4.

Quarterfinal pairs: Safina vs. Petrova, V. Williams vs. A. Radwanska, Kuznetsova vs. Jankovic, Azarenka vs. Kanepi. (photo: Tennis Channel)

Jelena Jankovic, who won the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title in 2007 and 2008, defeated Gisela Dulko 6-3 7-6(6) in the second round.

Jankovic could have advanced much more quickly, but she let the Argentinean world No.39 come back in the second set. Jankovic even put herself in a position of saving four set points in the tenth game before leveling at 5-5. Not only did the defending champion waste the early lead, but at 5-5 rain delay set in and the match was prolonged even more. When play resumed, Jankovic and Dulko held their serves, and the third seed finished the match in the tiebreak. Jankovic was on a good way to waste her chances again, though, as she converted only her fifth match point.

The fourth-ranked Serb will next take on Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko, who knocked out last year’s runner-up Alize Cornet 6-4 6-1. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

World No.4 Jelena Jankovic admitted a month and a half ago that her disappointing tennis results had a lot to do with her worrying about her mother Snezana's health. Now, the situation is much better and Jankovic is ready to take on the challenge of winning the third Rome title in a row.

Things are going much better. My mother was not feeling well, and it was very hard for me to compete for the last few months because I'm very emotional and very sensitive person. The most important thing is the health, of myself and the closest ones in my family. In bad moments I don't really think about tennis, I don't think about the game. I just hope and pray everything will be okay with my mother and she will be healthy.

Jankovic is content with her claycourt performance so far this year:

I won the tournament in Marbella, and then I won nine matches in a row and then lost just two days ago against Pennetta in a tough match. I'm doing much, much better and I'm improving each day and playing better tennis, and that is something that I'm really happy about.

I'm really happy to hear that things are moving in the favorable direction. Many of us were waiting for the news about Snezana's health. (source: Earth Times, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Defending champion Jelena Jankovic will not add the white Porsche to her car collection, as she was beaten in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix by Flavia Pennetta.

I have to say it’s a pity we won’t see Jelena’s proud photos next to this luxurious car. Remember those with the red Porsche she won last year in Stuttgart?

The world No.14 Pennetta won the quarterfinal 2-6 6-4 6-4. Jankovic managed to come back from 2-0 down in the third set, and had her chance to end it as a victor, but dropped her serve in the seventh game once again. Pennetta then kept the lead and entered the semifinals on the first match point.

Pennetta will next face the winner of the match between world No.1 Dinara Safina and Agnieszka Radwanska. Second seed Elena Dementieva and fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova are the other semifinal pair. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Second seed Elena Dementieva and third seed Jelena Jankovic advanced to the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

Dementieva played Agnes Szavay in the second round and despite being 4-1 behind in the first set, the Russian battled back to win the set in the tiebreak. Dementieva then cruised through the second set, but needed five match points to seal victory.

"I am still finding my feet on clay court. It is my first tournament of the year (on clay) and my footwork needs to improve," said Dementieva, who will next face Marion Bartoli, the winner over Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.

Defending champion Jelena Jankovic overcame Germany’s promising player Sabine Lisicki, who won Family Circle Cup this month, and beat 20th-ranked Patty Schnyder in the previous round in Stuttgart. The world No.42 Lisicki took Jankovic to three sets, but the Serb won 7-5 5-7 6-3 after two hours and 13 minutes of play.

Jankovic will encounter Flavia Pennetta or sixth seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)