Maria Sharapova will take on Jelena Jankovic in the women’s final of the Cincinnati hardcourt tournament on Sunday, both looking for a momentum-boosting victory heading into the US Open. Sharapova, the fourth seed, rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Vera Zvonareva in an all-Russian semi-final.
Jankovic, seeded 13th, defeated ninth-seeded German Andrea Petkovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-1. Petkovic took the court for that match with her right leg heavily strapped after suffering a slight cartilage tear in her knee in the quarter-finals. With the help of anti-inflammatory medication she got off to a strong start, but a few wayward shots in the tiebreaker doomed her chance to take the first set and she couldn’t keep pace in the second.
Jankovic broke her to open the second set, and again to take a 3-0 lead en route to the victory. Petkovic was pleased with her effort, and said she expected to be fit for the US Open, which starts in New York on August 29. The win gives Jankovic a chance for her first title of 2011 at a tournament where she triumphed in 2009. “It means a lot to me to be in the final again here,” said Jankovic, who was runner-up in Monterrey in her only other final appearance this year.
“I played well tonight and I lost to Andrea the last two times we played each other. So a great win tonight for me.” Sharapova will be vying for a second tournament title this season to go with a triumph in Rome. The three-time Grand Slam champion reached the final here last year, falling to Clijsters. “I love playing on this court,” Sharapova said. “There’s something about it.”
But the fourth-seeded Sharapova got off to a sluggish start against Zvonareva, who is ranked second in the world. A welter of unforced errors by Sharapova helped Zvonareva break serve twice to take a 5-2 lead. Sharapova won just 11 points in the first seven games. She managed to break Zvonareva to prolong the set, but Zvonareva broke back to pocket the frame. After a court-side pep-talk from her coach Thomas Hogstedt, Sharapova was able to turn things around and secure her finals berth in two hours and tow minutes.
She adopted a more aggressive style to start the second set and broke Zvonareva in the opening game. Under pressure, Zvonareva double-faulted to lose the second set and another double-fault from Zvonareva gave Sharapova a 3-1 lead in the third. Two double-faults from Sharapova saw Zvonareva narrow the deficit to 4-3, but Sharapova recovered and punched a forehand winner down the line to take a 5-3 lead. She served it out without drama, capping the match with another strng forehand and throwing her arms in the air in delight.
The men’s and women’s tournament is the last major event before the final Grand Slam of the season, but injuries and some early upsets left the women’s draw wide open. Clijsters withdrew with an abdominal strain that will also keep her from seeking a third straight US Open title. Venus skipped the tournament because of a virus while Serena pulled out on Wednesday with a toe injury.
