Jelena Jankovic booked her place in the semi-finals of the WTA Tour Championship with a 7-6 6-4 defeat of Svetlana Kuznetsova in Doha.
Serbian battles past Kuznetsova in Doha
Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic booked her place in the semi-finals of the WTA Tour Championship with a professional 7-6 6-4 defeat of Svetlana Kuznetsova in Doha.
It gave the Serbian a second success of the week following victory over Ana Ivanovic in her opening match on Tuesday, meaning she will progress from the White Group.
Jankovic called for the trainer after taking the opening set 8-6 in the tie-break, Kuznetsova having saved two set points after breaking back to level at 4-4.
Jankovic was clearly suffering from a lower back problem but showed all the tenacity that has become her trademark to out-battle the sixth-seeded Russian in the second set.
A second successive defeat for Kuznetsova means she will not be progressing to the last four in the season-ending event.
Fell apart
Serena Williams suffered an extraordinary meltdown against sister Venus, slumping to a 5-7 6-1 6-0 defeat.
The younger sibling battling through the first set and looked to be in a good position to win a second match of the week, but subsequently lost all control and composure as errors spewed from her racquet.
Venus merely had to keep the ball in court to win the majority of the points as her sister fell apart, sending down six double faults as her serve was broken eight times.
Venus won 12 of the last 13 games and for the first time in 18 matches between the pair won a set to love as the Wimbledon champion booked her place in the last four.
Serena can still advance to the semi-finals if she beats Elena Dementieva on Friday.
However, that will be no easy feat for the American as Dementieva notched up her first win in ruthless fashion with a 6-2 6-4 win over Russian compatriot Dinara Safina.
The world number two was simply blown away as she slumped to her third consecutive defeat and, as a result, crashed out of the tournament.
