Ana Ivanovic’s consistency seems to be getting back on track. The fourth-ranked Serb reached her second semifinal in two weeks with a 6-4 6-4 win over in-form Flavia Pennetta at the Generali Ladies Linz.
Both players contributed to a final-like quality of the match, which remained in the balance until the final ball. The seventh-seeded Pennetta was, however, troubled by a serve that produced seven double faults, while Ivanovic used her strong forehand to give her an edge.
The top-seeded Ivanovic will take on No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the Linz semifinals. Radwanska advanced with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory over Russian fifth seed Nadia Petrova.
The third known semifinalist is Vera Zvonareva, seeded second, who defeated seed No.8 Alize Cornet 7-5 6-1. The win earned Zvonareva the final place in the eight-player field for the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.
The last player to reach the semis will be either France’s Marion Bartoli or Alona Bondarenko. They are currently playing the third set.
