Serena Williams Pulls Out of Sony Ericsson Championships

Russian Vera Zvonareva upset world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic to win her round-robin group, while Serena Williams pulled out here on Friday, giving two-time major runner-up Elena Dementieva a walkover into Saturday’s semifinals at the season-ending $4.55 million Sony Ericsson Championships.

The eighth-seeded Olympic bronze medalist Zvonareva went a perfect 3-0 in this week’s four-woman White Group, including a big 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the U.S. Open runner-up Jankovic on Day 4 at Khalifa Tennis Complex. Jankovic, who went 2-1 in round-robin play and will finish this year as the No. 1 player in the world, will also compete in Saturday’s semis.

Zvonareva’s final four opponent will be fifth-seeded fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, while Jankovic will take on seventh-seeded American Venus Williams, who was a flawless 3-0 in capturing this week’s four-player Maroon Group.

The Olympic gold medalist Dementieva was 1-1 in Maroon Group round-robin action and was scheduled to meet a third-seeded Serena, who was also 1-1, here on Friday with a semifinal berth on the line, but the U.S. Open champion from the United States pulled out, citing a stomach muscle injury. The nine-time major champion Serena lost to her big sister and fellow former world No. 1 Venus, 7-5, 1-6, 0-6, here on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Serena was the only former Championships titlist (2001) in this year’s field and was the runner-up in 2002 and 2004.

The Maroon Group was rounded out this week by 0-3 Dinara Safina, the Russian third seed that had runner-up finishes at the French Open and Olympic Games this year.

On Saturday, Jankovic and the reigning two-time Wimbledon titlist and seven- time major champion Venus will meet for a ninth time, with the Serb holding a 5-3 lifetime advantage, including a 2-0 record this year. The two stars have never met at the season-ending Championships.

Dementieva and Zvonareva will do battle for a sixth time, with Dementieva leading their all-time series 4-1. Dementieva is 2-1 this year, with the wins coming at the French Open and the semifinals at the Olympics.

The winner of this week’s event will collect $1.34 million.

Doha, Qatar (Sports Network) - Russian Vera Zvonareva upset world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic to win her round-robin group, while Serena Williams pulled out here on Friday, giving two-time major runner-up Elena Dementieva a walkover into Saturday’s semifinals at the season-ending $4.55 million Sony Ericsson Championships.

The eighth-seeded Olympic bronze medalist Zvonareva went a perfect 3-0 in this week’s four-woman White Group, including a big 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the U.S. Open runner-up Jankovic on Day 4 at Khalifa Tennis Complex. Jankovic, who went 2-1 in round-robin play and will finish this year as the No. 1 player in the world, will also compete in Saturday’s semis.

Zvonareva’s final four opponent will be fifth-seeded fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, while Jankovic will take on seventh-seeded American Venus Williams, who was a flawless 3-0 in capturing this week’s four-player Maroon Group.

The Olympic gold medalist Dementieva was 1-1 in Maroon Group round-robin action and was scheduled to meet a third-seeded Serena, who was also 1-1, here on Friday with a semifinal berth on the line, but the U.S. Open champion from the United States pulled out, citing a stomach muscle injury. The nine-time major champion Serena lost to her big sister and fellow former world No. 1 Venus, 7-5, 1-6, 0-6, here on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Serena was the only former Championships titlist (2001) in this year’s field and was the runner-up in 2002 and 2004.

The Maroon Group was rounded out this week by 0-3 Dinara Safina, the Russian third seed that had runner-up finishes at the French Open and Olympic Games this year.

On Saturday, Jankovic and the reigning two-time Wimbledon titlist and seven- time major champion Venus will meet for a ninth time, with the Serb holding a 5-3 lifetime advantage, including a 2-0 record this year. The two stars have never met at the season-ending Championships.

Dementieva and Zvonareva will do battle for a sixth time, with Dementieva leading their all-time series 4-1. Dementieva is 2-1 this year, with the wins coming at the French Open and the semifinals at the Olympics.

The winner of this week’s event will collect $1.34 million.

Jelena Jankovic WTA’s Top-Ranked Player

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia will end the season at No. 1, outlasting four other players who held the top ranking during the year.

Jankovic’s 4,555 points give her a commanding lead over Russian Dinara Safina (3,782) and American Serena Williams (3,716). She will retain the top spot regardless of the outcome of the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, the WTA Tour announced Saturday. ”It has been a truly amazing year for me,” Jankovic said. ”I worked really hard this year, and to finish No. 1 is where I want to be and where I hope to stay.”

The 23-year-old, who hasn’t won a major, lost to Williams at the U.S. Open final in September. She won four titles and is 63-17 so far this year. Jankovic secured the year-end ranking by winning 12 straight matches en route to three consecutive titles: the China Open in Beijing, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, and the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

She first claimed the No. 1 ranking on Aug. 11, holding it for one week. She regained the top spot on Oct. 6 following her win in Stuttgart. She also advanced to the semifinals of two other Grand Slams, losing to eventual champion Maria Sharapova of Russia at the Australian Open and eventual champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia at the French Open.

The other players to hold the top ranking were the retired Belgian Justine Henin (20 weeks), Ivanovic (12), Sharapova (three) and Williams (four).

Jankovic Defeats Zvonareva at Kremlin Cup

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia rolled to a straight-set victory over Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in Sunday’s final of the Kremlin Cup, strengthening her position as world No. 1 with her third WTA title in as many weeks. The top-seeded Jankovic downed Zvonareva with relative ease 6-2, 6-4, needing an hour and 21 minutes to become the first woman since Nicole Vaidisova in 2005 to win three times in three weeks. Jankovic also won in Beijing and at Stuttgart prior to the Kremlin Cup victory.

The easy win in the final capped a tough ride to Sunday for Jankovic, who dropped the first set of her opener against Vera Dushevina, trailed 3-1 in both sets of her quarterfinal win over Flavia Pennetta, and rebounded from an awful start in her 0-6, 6-1, 6-0 win in Saturday’s semifinal over the No. 3 seed and defending champion Elena Dementieva.

“All of my opponents this week were tough and I had to work hard every match,” said Jankovic. “All of my opponents in the last few weeks have been tough for me. Winning three tournaments in a row is a great result. I’ve been trying my best.”

The world’s top-ranked player also captured the French Open tuneup in Rome earlier this year and has nine titles for her career. She’s also been a runner-up twice this season, losing to Serena Williams in finals at Miami and the U.S. Open.

Zvonareva, meanwhile, failed in her bid for her third title of 2008. She also won at Prague in May and last month in Guangzhou to increase her career victory haul to seven. In addition to her victories, she has also lost in the title matches at Hobart, Doha and Charleston.

Jankovic improved to 6-3 in her career against Zvonareva. The two had split six career meetings prior to this win streak for Jankovic, who bounced Zvonareva in the semifinals at Beijing two weeks ago and in the quarterfinals last week in Stuttgart.

Sunday’s matchup was the fifth this season between the two, but first in a final. Before the last two matchups, Zvonareva prevailed in the quarterfinals at Charleston and Jankovic was a straight-set winner in the semifinals in Miami. The only previous meeting in a final came last year in Auckland, where Jankovic prevailed with a 7-6 (11-9), 5-7, 6-3 triumph. Jankovic took home a purse of $196,900 for winning the title on Sunday.

Jelena Jankovic Wins Kremlin Cup

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia rolled to a straight-set victory over Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in Sunday’s final of the Kremlin Cup, strengthening her position as world No. 1 with her third WTA title in as many weeks. The top-seeded Jankovic downed Zvonareva with relative ease 6-2, 6-4, needing an hour and 21 minutes to become the first woman since Nicole Vaidisova in 2005 to win three times in three weeks. Jankovic also won in Beijing and at Stuttgart prior to the Kremlin Cup victory.

The easy win in the final capped a tough ride to Sunday for Jankovic, who dropped the first set of her opener against Vera Dushevina, trailed 3-1 in both sets of her quarterfinal win over Flavia Pennetta, and rebounded from an awful start in her 0-6, 6-1, 6-0 win in Saturday’s semifinal over the No. 3 seed and defending champion Elena Dementieva.

“All of my opponents this week were tough and I had to work hard every match,” said Jankovic. “All of my opponents in the last few weeks have been tough for me. Winning three tournaments in a row is a great result. I’ve been trying my best.”

The world’s top-ranked player also captured the French Open tuneup in Rome earlier this year and has nine titles for her career. She’s also been a runner-up twice this season, losing to Serena Williams in finals at Miami and the U.S. Open. Zvonareva, meanwhile, failed in her bid for her third title of 2008. She also won at Prague in May and last month in Guangzhou to increase her career victory haul to seven. In addition to her victories, she has also lost in the title matches at Hobart, Doha and Charleston.

Jankovic improved to 6-3 in her career against Zvonareva. The two had split six career meetings prior to this win streak for Jankovic, who bounced Zvonareva in the semifinals at Beijing two weeks ago and in the quarterfinals last week in Stuttgart.

Sunday’s matchup was the fifth this season between the two, but first in a final. Before the last two matchups, Zvonareva prevailed in the quarterfinals at Charleston and Jankovic was a straight-set winner in the semifinals in Miami. The only previous meeting in a final came last year in Auckland, where Jankovic prevailed with a 7-6 (11-9), 5-7, 6-3 triumph. Jankovic took home a purse of $196,900 for winning the title on Sunday.

Jelena Jankovic Wins at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic solidified her return to the top of the women’s rankings by capturing her second title in as many weeks with a straight-set victory over Russia’s Nadia Petrova in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

The second-seeded Jankovic earned a 6-4, 6-3 triumph on Sunday for her third title of 2008 and the eighth of her career. She was fresh off a victory in Beijing and has claimed tournament crowns in back-to-back weeks for the first time in her career.

Already assured of moving into the top spot in the rankings next week, Jankovic also improved to 3-2 in finals this year. She also won in Rome, while both losses came against Serena Williams in Miami and at the U.S. Open.

Jankovic was coming off three-set matches in the quarterfinals against Vera Zvonareva and in the semifinals against Venus Williams, but did not have nearly as much trouble on Sunday.

“I’m very proud of winning my second tournament in a row,” said Jankovic, who was No. 1 for a week in August. “It wasn’t easy coming here from China and I had very tough matches against Zvonareva and Venus, but I’m thrilled to win the Porsche today.”

The only break of the first set went to Jankovic, who saved two break-point chances against her own serve. Petrova, who had not lost a set before Sunday, managed to break serve once in the second set, but had her serve broken three times in response.

“There are some days you wake up and you know it’s not going to be your day,” said Petrova. “No matter what I tried today it didn’t work, and my legs felt really heavy.”

Petrova, the 2006 Stuttgart champ, fell to 8-10 lifetime in finals, including 1-2 this year. She won in Cincinnati before the U.S. Open and also lost in the title match at Eastbourne prior to Wimbledon.

The victory was worth $100,000 for Jankovic, who improved to 6-2 lifetime against Petrova. The two also met last year in this event. Jankovic won the quarterfinal matchup when Petrova, who had taken the opening set in a tiebreaker, retired in the second set with a left hip strain.

Jankovic, Safina and Venus Advance at Porsche Grand Prix

U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic, French Open and Olympic runner-up Dinara Safina and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams were a trio of second-round winners Thursday at the $650,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

The second-seeded Jankovic, who will supplant Serena Williams atop the world rankings on Monday, blew past Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-0 on the indoor hardcourts at Porsche Arena. The steady Jankovic was last week’s hardcourt champion in Beijing.

Jankovic’s quarterfinal opponent here on Friday will be seventh-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, who zipped past France’s Marion Bartoli 6-2, 6-0 on Day 4. Zvonareva captured an Olympic bronze medal in Beijing back in August.

Meanwhile, the third-seeded Safina, who titled at a WTA Tour event in Beijing two weeks ago and captured a silver medal at the Beijing Games, got past Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), while a sixth-seeded Venus waltzed past Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4, 6-2.

Russian Nadia Petrova cooled off Swiss lefthander Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-1, as Schnyder was riding a five-match winning streak, including a title in Bali last month.

Friday’s other quarters will pit Safina against Venus, fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva versus Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Chinese Na Li against Petrova. Dementieva is the reigning Olympic gold medalist. Li shocked a top-ranked Serena here on Wednesday.

The 2008 Stuttgart titlist will take home $100,000.

Jelena Jankovic to 3rd Round of China Open

Jelena Jankovic and Zheng Jie are adding a bit of tension to the China Open.

The top-seeded Jankovic beat Aleksandra Wozniak 6-3, 7-5 in the second round Wednesday, leaving her on course to threaten Serena Williams’ hold on the top spot in women’s tennis.

Jankovic can’t overtake Williams this week - even if she wins Sunday’s final - but it could happen next week when the two meet in Stuttgart where eight of the top 10 women are scheduled to play.

Jankovic can reach 4,070 points by winning this tournament, just 21 short of Williams.

Zheng reached the second round Wednesday, beating Agnieska Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-3. She’s the only local woman to do so after the four others disappointed home fans with first-round losses.

Jankovic had some trouble with the Canadian, needing 35 minutes in the first set on a chilly, damp night on the outdoor courts at Beijing Tennis Center. She struggled in the second set, changing to warmer clothes late in a match that wrapped up a day delayed four hours by early rain.

In the past three months, Zheng has reached the Wimbledon semifinals and claimed the Olympic bronze medal in doubles with Yan Zi. But beating Radwanska might matter just as much - both to fans and sponsors trying to establish a tennis base in China.

“I felt as a Chinese player in an event in China, I should perform well,” she said. “This is very important for me.”

Zheng reached the semifinals last week in a WTA event in Guangzhou in southern China, but caught a cold in the process.

“I actually thought about withdrawing, but the China Open is in my homeland so I thought I should stay and keep trying,” she said.

The four other Chinese women in the first round all lost Monday. Fortunately for Zheng, her match was delayed a day due to rain, which allowed her to shake off a fever. She also got another break when rain delayed the start of play by four hours.

Zheng became a national heroine, saying after her Wimbledon success that she would donate her winnings in England to help survivors of the May 12 Sichuan earthquake that killed almost 70,000.

Zheng is from the Sichuan city of Chengdu, but she’s not had time to return home.

“As a professional player, I should finish my season first,” Zheng said. “I have a few events after this and then I plan to go back and see what I can do for them.”

In a key second-round match, No. 7 Daniela Hantuchova outlasted Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1, 0-6, 7-5.

The China Open is a men’s and women’s event.

The top-seeded David Ferrer and No. 2 Andy Roddick play second-round matches Thursday. Both received byes. Ferrer plays Dudi Sela of Israel and Roddick faces Brendan Evans in an all-American match.

On Wednesday, No. 8 Sam Querrey defeated Jesse Levine 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in another all-American match. Also, Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic beat Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Sela defeated Nicolas Devilder of France 6-4, 6-3; and Jean-Claude Scherrer of Switzerland beat Peng Sun of China 6-4, 7-6 (7).

Also, Fernando Verdasco of Spain beat Bobby Reynolds of the United States 6-3, 6-3; Go Soeda of Japan defeated Bai Yan of China 6-4, 7-5; and Brendan Evans of the United States downed Roko Karanusic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (10).