Second seed Jelena Jankovic and sixth seed Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

Williams served 12 aces on her way to a 6-4 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.

Jelena Jankovic, who will regain the world number one spot from Serena Williams, beat Kateryna’s older sister Alona Bondarenko 6-2 6-0 to win her opening match in Stuttgart.

Other quarterfinalists in Stuttgart:

Third seed Dinara Safina, one of four Russian quarterfinalists at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1 7-6(6) to reach the last eight. She will next play Venus Williams.

Russian seventh seed Vera Zvonareva spoiled Marion Bartoli's 24th birthday beating her 6-2 6-0, while another Russian Nadia Petrova defeated Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-4 6-1. Zvonareva’s next opponent will be Jelena Jankovic, and Petrova’s Li Na of China.

There is one more quarterfinal pair, fourth seed Elena Dementieva will play Belorussian Victoria Azarenka. (photos: Getty Images)

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Carlos Rodriguez, best-known as the former coach of once dominant women’s tennis player Justine Henin, was interviewed by Matt Cronin for FOXSports.com and gave harsh reviews of some currently top WTA players.

Ok, the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova can be satisfied, but Jelena Jankovic could feel more than offended. However, we can’t blame Carlos for being honest; I doubt he wanted to insult anyone. Read more »

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Seed number one Jelena Jankovic won her second title of the 2008 season with a 6-3 6-2 victory over fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova at the China Open in Beijing.

The 23-year-old Kuznetsova failed to win her first title of the year. The Russian has lost ten of her last eleven singles finals. She lost all her finals since the beginning of 2007, except for the one in New Haven last August. Kuznetsova was defeated in five finals in 2007 and five so far in 2008.

Jankovic, who was a runner-up last year at the China Open, collected $95,500 with today’s victory at the Tier II event. Being the finalist, Kuznetsova earned $51,000. (photo via Yahoo)

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Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia overcame Russian seed No.5 Vera Zvonareva 6-4 2-6 6-4 to reach the final of the China Open in Beijing.

The world No.2 Jankovic was in the China Open final last year too, when she was stunned by sixth-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary after leading 7-6 5-1.

In this year’s championship match Jankovic will face either Svetlana Kuznetsova or local favorite Zheng Jie who are to play their semifinal later on Saturday. (photo: Getty Images)

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Top women’s tennis players attended the official reception at the China Open in Beijing, wearing traditional Chinese dresses.

Hm, look at Fernando Verdasco, he’s the third Spanish ATP player who seems to enjoy Ana’s company, joining Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo (OK, by now we know that the story about Robredo was not more than a rumor).

Oh, and it’s so nice to see Ana and Jelena together. They even seem to enjoy each other’s company.

More photos after the cut. Read more »

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