Ivanovic, Golovin, Bammer and Petrova — Final Four of Bausch & Lomb

The first player to enter the semifinals at Amelia Island was sixth-seeded Ana Ivanovic who defeated second seed and compatriot Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-3. In the following match, Venus Williams was ousted by France's Tatiana Golovin 6-2, 6-3. The third member of the last four is Austria's Sybille Bammer who crushed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. The last match of the quarterfinals was played by two Russian players; Nadia Petrova, the defending champion, advanced to the semifinals by beating fifth-seeded Dinara Safina 6-4, 7-5. The semifinal matches are scheduled to start today at 1:00 PM local time.

Tatiana Golovin — second member of the final four at Amelia Island

France's Tatiana Golovin crushed American Venus Williams 6-2, 6-3 to reach the last four of the Bausch and Lomb Championships. In the semifinals world No. 20 Golovin will face Ana Ivanovic of Serbia who is ranked 17. Ana and Tatiana played against each other five times, and Ana was a victor all five times.

Ivanovic in last four of Bausch & Lomb

The world No. 17 Ana Ivanovic overwhelmed Jelena Jankovic ranked 9 to reach the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Florida. The younger player won 7-5, 6-3. This victory extends Ivanovic's head-to-head record over 22-year-old Jankovic to 3-1 . Ana's opponent in the final four will be either Tatiana Golovin or Venus Williams whose match is currently in progress.

Sixth seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia is the first known member of the semifinals. We're still waiting for the results of the following matches: Tatiana Golovin (FRA) vs. Venus Williams (USA), Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) vs. Sybille Bammer (AUT), and Nadia Petrova (RUS) vs. Dinara Safina (RUS). Let me just remind you that Petrova is the reigning champion at Amelia Island.

I'll keep you up with the latest results!

All-Serbian quarterfinal in Amelia Island

Second seed Jelena Jankovic and sixth seed Ana Ivanovic will face each other in the fight for semifinals of the Bausch and Lomb Championships. They both needed less than one hour to defeat their opponents in the third round. Jankovic crushed Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine in straight sets 6-2, 6-0, while Ivanovic easily beat world No. 43 Nathalie Dechy 6-1, 6-1.

In their matches Ivanovic leads 2:1 — Ivanovic overwhelmed Jankovic in Zurich and Tokyo, while Jankovic won in Los Angeles. I personally think that Jankovic has slightly higher chances to take the victory. We'll see the result on Friday.

Jelena Jankovic advances in Florida

Second seed Jelena Jankovic beat No. 86 Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-2 at the Bausch & Lomb Championships. Jankovic improved her play from the last year when she failed to make it out of the second round. The 22-year-old will face Alona Bondarenko in the third round of the tournament. In their head-to-head statistics Jelena leads 3-0. However, they have never played against each other on clay.

Venus’s ninth straight victory over Schnyder

Venus Williams advanced to the round three of the Bausch & Lomb Championships by defeating Patty Schnyder 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. This is her ninth straight win over Patty Schnyder. In the third round Williams will face Meilen Tu. So, we'll be watching a match of the only two American players left in the tournament. (via: SI.com)

Ivanovic in round three of Bausch & Lomb

Ana Ivanovic's first ever competitive outing on green clay almost ended up disappointingly. In the 40th minute of the match, Peng Shuai lead 6-1, 2-0 and faced two break points at 15-40. But then, Ana's determination and strength took the lead. She made one of her most impressive comebacks by fighting off those break points and eventually winning the match.

Ana's opponent in the third round is Nathalie Dechy. So far, they played two times, and the score is 2-0 for Ivanovic.

(source: Ana Ivanovic's website)

Venus Williams beats Aravane Rezai

Venus Williams has one more proof that she's physically fit and ready to climb rankings again. It didn't take her long to defeat Aravane Rezai of France 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Bausch and Lomb Championships in Florida. Williams used her powerful serve to ensure her place in the second round where her opponent will be fourth seed Patty Schnyder. So far, Williams has eight consecutive wins over Schnyder.


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