Sharapova to meet Jankovic in Cincinnati final
Fourth seed Sharapova overcame compatriot and second favorite Vera Zvonareva in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 after breaking her seven times of 12 tries. Winner of this term’s Rome Masters, Maria won 51 percent of service points and 53 on return, having committed nine double faults, compared to her opponent whose showing included a 47 service percentage as well as a 49 one on returning points.
It took Sharapova two hours to book the final berth where she will start the Jankovic clash as favorite. The direct confrontations between two of the best Russian players have now gone 7-3 to the world number seven who had previously defeated Vera at the 2009 Toronto tournament. As for the second ranked, Vera, who has won two titles so far this season in Doha and Baku, last defeated Sharapova at the 2007 Indian Wells Masters.
Said Vera after the game: “I think she started a little bit slow and was making a lot of unforced errors. She came up with more consistency in the second set. There are a lot of positive things though. I was playing the semifinals against Maria and it was a tough match. Of course I saw a lot of things I need to work on to prepare for the US Open, but I have a few days now so I’ll go work on them.”
Sharapova’s next opponent Jelena Jankovic, who is a 14th seed in Cincinnati, ousted this year’s Strasbourg winner Andrea Petkovic in straight sets 7-6, 6-1. After a very tough opener, the Serb rallied past the German who conceded three of four services only in the second set.
Jelena only conceded a service in the first term, but managed to stay in touch with the first lead, wining the tie-break at four. The second round saw her win 86 percent of service points, 58 on return and twice as many winners as Petkovic. Overall, Jankovic won 69 percent of service points, compared to her opponent who won 57 percent.
The world number 14 needed one hour and a half to eliminate the German whom she was playing for the third time. Petkovic still leads the head to head series with Jelena 2-1, her last victory dating from this year’s Stuttgart event. Jankovic had previously had some hard lives against Francesca Schiavone whom she edged 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 and Jie Zheng whom she overcame 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the second round. She had also made a free progress into the semi finals thanks to Shuai Peng’s withdrawal.
On the other side, Sharapova has reached the final without losing a set in Cincinnati. She started her American adventure with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Anastasia Rodionova and a 6-2, 6-3 one against Svetlana Kuznetsova. In the quarter finals she beat Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-2.
The 24 year old Russian leads the direct confrontations with Jankovic 5-1, her last victory over the Serb coming from the 2009 Tokyo Pan Pacific event. As for Jelena, she last defeated Sharapova at the 2008 Rome tournament. The Russian has won all the four meetings on a hard surface, being expected to seal her sixth one on Sunday.
Cincinnati Prize Money and points:
Winner – $360,000 and 900 points WTA
Runner-up – 180,000 and 620 points WTA
Semi finalist – $90,000 and 395 points WTA
Quarter finalist – $41,450 and 225 points WTA
Third round – $20,550 and 125 points WTA
Second round – $10,575 and 70 points WTA
First round – $5,500 and 1 point WTA
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