Thursday October 1, 2009
Sharapova, Jankovic move into last eight at Tokyo event
TOKYO: Former world number one Maria Sharapova continued her salvage operation at the Pan Pacific Open by screeching into the quarter-finals yesterday.
Wearing a pink dress, the Russian beat compatriot Alisa Kleybanova 2-6, 6-2 6-2 - to the relief of Tokyo organisers after a flood of early upsets at the US$2mil event.
Seventh seed Jelena Jankovic, the highest-ranked survivor, avoided the rush for the exit after Russian Elena Vesnina retired with a thigh strain while trailing 6-1, 3-0.
Take that: Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic serving to Russia’s Elena Vesnina during their Pan Pacific Open third round match yesterday. Vesnina withdrew due to injury during the second set. — AFP Sharapova, ranked 25th in the world following shoulder surgery last October, recovered from an error-strewn first set to reach the last eight of a tournament she won in 2005.
The 22-year-old called coach Michael Joyce on court for advice at the end of the set before storming through the second to level the match.
Pumping up the volume as the ferocity of her hitting increased, Sharapova secured the crucial break at 2-2 in the decider by smashing a forehand return across court.
The three-time Grand Slam winner wrapped up victory with a kicking serve that bamboozled Kleybanova and celebrated by blowing kisses to the crowd.
Jankovic, who finished 2008 as the world number one, was cruising when Vesnina threw in the towel in cold conditions under a closed centre court roof.
“My goal is to make the (WTA Tour’s season-ending) championships,” the world number eight told reporters. “I’m not worrying about what’s happening to the other seeds.”
Jankovic next plays 14th seed Marion Bartoli after the Frenchwoman scored a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
World number one Dinara Safina, second seed Venus Williams and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova all lost their opening matches on Monday after first-round byes.
A tournament that started with nine of the world’s top 10 was down to just two before the close of play on Wednesday. — Reuters
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