MOSCOW, Russia - A day after qualifying for Doha the good fortunes ran out for Jelena Jankovic, as she was ousted in the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup.
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Jankovic, the No.2 seed and defending champion at the Premier-level event, had lost her only previous encounter with Alisa Kleybanova but was looking in solid form this week, perhaps ready to exact revenge for a quarterfinal loss in Toronto in the summer. But whereas last time Jankovic held match point, this time Kleybanova didn't let her get close at all, beating the Serb routinely, 64 63.
"My goal today was to play my game from the first point to the last, and I did that," Kleybanova commented after the match. "I had to keep my level up throughout the match against Jelena, not just play a good first set then relax. I did that very well, and that's why I was able to win in straight sets today."
Kleybanova's win over the No.9-ranked Jankovic was her fifth Top 10 win of the year and of her career.
The only other seed to make the quarterfinals was No.8 seed Francesca Schiavone and she was able to keep winning, beating Maria Kirilenko, 63 62.
In other matches, Alona Bondarenko beat qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova, 63 63; and in the night match, Olga Govortsova beat Vera Dushevina, 63 60.
"Usually there was a big gap, but now it's interesting for me to be ranked behind her and try to get ahead of her. But I'm happy she's playing so well," Alona Bondarenko said of her sister, Kateryna Bondarenko, who passed her on the rankings for the first time after reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open. "For me, the Kremlin Cup is a tournament just like at home. I always wanted to make a good result here but it didn't work out. It's the last tournament of the year for me so I just want to show my best tennis."
In the semifinals on Saturday, Schiavone will play Bondarenko while Kleybanova will play Govortsova. Schiavone leads Bondarenko in their head-to-head series, 3-2; and Kleybanova leads Govortsova in their head-to-head, 2-1.
