Newly-crowned French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, who has now officially become world number one, revealed why she lost so early at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the Tier I event which took place in Rome last month.

As Ivanovic was getting ready to go on court for her second round match against Tsvetana Pironkova, she suddenly heard that Justine Henin had quit the sport. As you know, the news was totally unexpected, and since Henin would have been the overwhelming favorite to win the Roland Garros title for the fifth time in six years, the news gave Ivanovic a glimmer of hope. That hope, however, distracted Ivanovic so much that she lost the match against Pironkova.

"I started thinking, hey maybe I can become number one but it was too much for me," said the 20-year-old Ivanovic. (photo via Yahoo)

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World No.4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia successfully defended a title for the first time in her career with a 6-2 6-2 victory over French qualifier Alize Cornet, ranked 34th in the world.

Fourth-seeded Jankovic was dominant throughout the final. She established a 5-1 lead in the first set, and although Cornet pulled a break back, Jankovic immediately broke back to take the opening set. The second set was the same story. The 18-year-old Frenchwoman even broke into tears at 4-1 down while Jankovic took a pause to have treatment on her right shoulder. Cornet, who scored victories over Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anna Chakvetadze on her way to the final, held her next service game and then earned three break points on Jankovic's serve but the champion saved them all and went on to break again to claim the Internazionali BNL d'Italia title.

Winning in Rome, the 23-year-old Jankovic took home her sixth career WTA title and her first since winning in Birmingham at the DFS Classic last year in June. Also, she earned $196,900.

In the next rankings, Jankovic will move to No.3, and Cornet, who played only her second WTA final, is expected to make her Top 30 debut, improving to around No.22. (photo via Yahoo)

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Jelena Jankovic is now just one step away from defending her Internazionali BNL d’Italia title. The Serb was supposed to play Maria Sharapova in the semifinals, but the Russian withdrew before the match with a calf injury.

Sharapova believes that the injury is not serious and is expecting it to heal in a few days. Being ready for the French Open is her priority.

"The most important thing is recovery and to be ready for the French (Open), which is obviously a goal for every player," Sharapova, who will on Monday move to No.1 in the rankings, told a news conference.

"I'm going to Paris in a couple of hours. I'm going to get some treatment over there and try to be ready as soon as possible. I hope in two days I'll be able to be on court and be normal." Read more »

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Defending champion Jelena Jankovic, seeded fourth, dismantled Venus Williams' power game and advanced to the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. Jankovic defeated Williams 5-7 6-3 6-2.

"I was fighting for every point," said the world No.4. "Venus is really strong, and to win you have to really play your best."

I didn’t get to see the match, but as I can read in the news, Williams was let down by her forehand.

In the semis Jelena Jankovic will meet either ninth-seeded Patty Schnyder or second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who are now playing their quarterfinal. The other semifinal will feature French qualifier Alize Cornet, who advanced as injured Serena Williams withdrew, and sixth seed Russian Anna Chakvetadze.

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Fifth-seeded Serena Williams withdrew from her Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarterfinal against French qualifier Alize Cornet due to a back injury.

Williams’ withdrawal gives world No.34 Cornet a walkover to the semifinals, where she'll face Russian sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze, a 6-2 3-6 6-1 winner over Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova. Remember, Pironkova was the one who stunned top seed Ana Ivanovic. (photo via Getty Images)

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