Top seed Ana Ivanovic and second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet in the final of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells after both prevailed in the semifinals on Friday.
Ana Ivanovic extended her head–to-head record against fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic to 5-1 beating her 7-6(3) 6-3 in the semis. Well, Ivanovic is on a good way to become as fatal to Jelena Jankovic as Justine Henin.
In the other semifinal, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Maria Sharapova 6-3 5-7 6-2. Kuznetsova’s triumph ended Maria Sharapova’s 18-0 winning streak and handed the Australian Open champion her first loss of the season.
After the loss, Sharapova said she has been traveling too much lately (and we know exactly how much), so she’s considering taking a little break from the tennis court. There is even a possibility she’ll skip the upcoming Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
A look at the stats shows us that Ivanovic is 4-1 all-time against Kuznetsova, which includes winning all three matches last year. Still, all Ivanovic’s victories over Kuznetsova have come in three sets, including the one in their only prior meeting in a final, at Qatar Telecom German Open, which propelled Ivanovic into the Top 10 for the first time.
If Ivanovic wins the Pacific Life Open title, she’ll remain the world No.2, while Jankovic would go back to her career high at No.3, and Kuznetsova would fall to No.4. If Kuznetsova wins the tournament, she and Jankovic would stay in their current position.
