A small country without a national tennis centre has three players in the top 10 – that’s Serbia! Amazing! And not only that — Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic reached the semis of Roland Garros, as well as their male compatriot Novak Djokovic.

"Wherever you go, it's just Serbians all over the place, winning all these matches," said Jankovic, laughing. "It's just incredible. I'm just proud of that and just, hopefully, we can keep going."

Here’s what one Serbian newspaper wrote in its daily Roland Garros report: "What seemed like a distant dream a year ago is becoming reality — Serbia is taking over the world's tennis scene."

Jankovic and Ivanovic have made a fantastic progress. A year ago, they were ranked No. 32 and No. 21. Today, they are No. 5 and No. 7, respectively. It will be the first Grand Slam singles semifinal for Ivanovic and only the second for Jankovic, who reached the U.S. Open semis last year, only to lose to Henin — her opponent on Thursday.

However, we will be watching an historic all-Serbian French Open final only if Jelena and Ana defeat the number one and two seeds.

Fourth-seeded Jankovic plays top-seeded Justine Henin in the semifinal. Although the Serb lost all five of their previous meetings, it was never easy for the Belgian since she always gained victory in three sets. We also have to point out that Jankovic is definitely in good form, winning three titles in 2007 – Auckland, Charleston, and Rome. Actually, if we were looking only at the points earned this year, Jankovic would have been ranked No. 1.

About her match with Justine the world No. 5 said: "I think I can do it. It's a matter of staying concentrated and being mentally tough."

Henin, who is looking to become the first woman since Monica Seles in 1992 to win three straight French Open titles, is wary of her much-improved opponent.

"She doesn't make a lot of errors. She has a lot of pace, and she fights a lot," said the 25-year-old Belgian.

"I would say that if I'm able to get my game together, in all likelihood, I might win, but it will be a tricky match."

Ivanovic’s opponent on Thursday will be Maria Sharapova. Both of them will play their first Roland Garros semi-final.

Sharapova, despite admitting that she struggles on clay, wouldn’t be surprised if she won this year’s French Open.

"Others might be surprised because I didn't play a lot on clay when I was younger.

"It also doesn't surprise me that I'm in the semi-finals. I am proud to have made it. In every tournament I play, I always believe in myself whether it's clay or mud. I know what I'm capable of." (sources: BBC Sport, Reuters, ESPN)

Seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic was the first one to reach the final four. She defeated the last year’s French Open finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0 3-6 6-1. Federer was definitely wrong when he said that Kuznetsova will take the trophy this year.

The rising 19-year-old from Serbia said that she has improved her physical fitness and that now she has more experience which helped her to be calmer in the match against Kuznetsova. Ivanovic will play Maria Sharapova for a place in the final.

Roland Garros was the one Grand Slam tournament in which Sharapova had never reached the semifinals — until Tuesday. In the quarterfinal match against Anna Chakvetadze, there was no evidence of Maria’s problems with the right shoulder. Maria, seeded second, scored the victory in straight sets 6-3 6-4.

"I really didn't know what to expect from [the shoulder]," Sharapova said. "I thought it was going to be worse than it was, so after the match, especially, I'm very pleased. But I wouldn't say I'm surprised or shocked by the situation."

I should mention that Sharapova last played Ivanovic in Tokyo back in February but retired with a hamstring injury trailing 1-6, 1-0. "She's had some good success this clay-court season," Sharapova said. "It will definitely be a very tough match."

Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic continues to be the most successful WTA player this year. She has now won 44 of 54 matches. In the quarterfinals she beat sixth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-3 7-5.

In the semis Jankovic will play the defending champion and top-seeded Justine Henin, who overwhelmed Serena Williams 6-4 6-3 to set up a semifinal against the Serb. They played five times till now and all their matches were three-setters. Even though J.J. won the first set four times, she has never defeated the Belgian. Maybe it’s time for her to do it now.

Jankovic, despite her recent success, still has a reputation of being something of a head case. "I will focus on my objectives, and whether or not she buckled under pressure, I mean, it doesn't matter," Henin said. "You might think that's an asset for me, the fact that she's psychologically weak, but I don't pay attention to that. I will have to be cautious, in fact." (source: ESPN, photos: BBC Sport)

Justine Henin BEL (1) vs. Serena Williams USA (8)

According to many people, these two players are most likely to win the 2007 French Open. Henin already possesses three titles from Paris (winning it in 2003, 2005, and 2006), while her opponent in the final 16 has one, from 2002.

In their flourishing careers, they’ve met nine times, and Serena leads 6-3. But maybe it’s more important to point out that the one more successful on clay was Justine. She defeated the American three times (in the finals of Berlin and Charleston, and in the semifinal of Roland Garros). Serena beat Henin on clay only once, in the final of Rome.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (4) vs. Nicole Vaidisova CZE (6)

Vaidisova leads 1-0 on clay. She defeated Jankovic in 2006, in the semifinal of Strasbourg. If we include their matches on other surfaces too, Vaidisova is also better, leading 4-2. However, we mustn’t forget Jelena’s fantastic results this season. In 2007 she’s already won three trophies: in Auckland, Charleston, and Rome.

Ana Ivanovic SRB (7) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (3)

Considering the matches they've played so far, Ana has better results, leading 2-1. On clay they played once, and Ana defeated Kuznetsova. That was in the last month’s final of Berlin.

Anna Chakvetadze RUS (9) vs. Maria Sharapova (2)

In this case, situation is clear – they played against each other three times and Chakvetadze has never beat Sharapova. Out of these three matches, they had only one on clay; in the last 32 of the 2005 Roland Garros when Sharapova defeated the compatriot in straight sets.

Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova was stunned when people told her that Roger Federer, the top-ranked ATP player and ten-time Grand Slam champion, thinks that she will be the one to win Roland Garros.

Kuznetsova logged on to the Internet to check whether that’s true. When she saw Federer’s words: "I like her game, she plays well," she couldn’t believe it and had to pinch herself.

"The Russian press told me and I thought 'No, it was a joke'. So I wanted to check it myself and read this on the Internet," Kuznetsova said after reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

"If I would have to choose a compliment from anybody, it's definitely the best I ever heard. Roger is a legend and to hear him say that is almost a dream.

"It's unbelievable to hear my hero say this about my tennis."

Kuznetsova, a runner-up in the 2006 French Open, is eager to play the best she can, and live up to Federer’s expectations by winning the title on Saturday.

"If he likes my game, I would like to prove it more," she said.

In the quarterfinal she will play the rising Serb Ana Ivanovic. In their head-to-heads Ivanovic leads 2-1. On hard courts they are tied, but Ivanovic leads 1-0 on clay. (source: Reuters)

The top-ranked ATP player Roger Federer, when asked to name who he thought would win the French Open, shot back an answer almost as quickly as one of his forehands.

"Kuznetsova," he said. "I like her game. She plays well."

Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded third, beat Ekaterina Bychkova in the opening round, then Meghann Shaughnessy in the second, and lastly Dominika Cibulkova to advance to the round four where she will play fifteenth seed Shahar Peer of Israel.

The 21-year-old Russian — a U.S. Open champion in 2004 — reached the final last year, losing to Justine Henin. (source: International Herald Tribune)