Jankovic, Davenport reach semis; Mauresmo falls in Beijing

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - World No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport posted quarterfinal wins, while third-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo came up a loser Friday at the $600,000 China Open.
The second-seeded Jankovic handled Japan's Akiko Morigami 6-3, 7-5, while the unseeded Davenport won her eighth straight match by ousting fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 at Beijing Tennis Center.
Jankovic and the three-time major titlist Davenport will now meet for a second straight week, as the 31-year-old American doused the Serbian star in last week's quarterfinals on her way to a title in Bali. Last week marked Davenport's first WTA Tour singles action since last September. She gave birth to her first child, a son named Jagger, in June of this year.
Davenport is a perfect 4-0 lifetime against Jankovic.
The former top-ranked and two-time major champion Mauresmo succumbed to Chinese crowd favorite Shuai Peng 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Mauresmo was last year's Beijing runner-up to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who pulled out of this year's event on Wednesday due to an injury...Full Story

Henin, Jankovic, Serena win third-rounders at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Belgian Justine Henin, Serbian Jelena Jankovic and two-time champion and former world No. 1 Serena Williams were a trio of third-round winners Friday at Wimbledon 2007.
Henin, who captured a third straight and fourth overall French Open title earlier this month, giving her six career Grand Slam titles, easily defeated Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 after the match was delayed about an hour in the second set due to rain.
Henin, the two-time Wimbledon runner-up, still needs a title here to complete a career Grand Slam.
Henin, now 25-6 at the All England Club, having won nine of her last 10 matches here, will meet 15th seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the fourth round. Schnyder outlasted 24th seed Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 in their third-round bout.
A third-seeded Jankovic came from behind to down Czech Lucie Safarova 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to advance to round four. The rising star Jankovic reached the French Open semis three weeks ago, then captured a grass- court title in Birmingham by beating Maria Sharapova in the final and was a runner-up last week in The Netherlands.
In the fourth round, Jankovic will meet Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, the 18th seed, who easily defeated No. 16 Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-2.
The seventh-seeded Williams improved to an impressive career record of 36-5 at Wimbledon after whipping Venezuelan Milagros Sequera 6-1, 6-0 in just 43 minutes.
The eight-time Grand Slam event champion Williams captured Wimbledon back-to- back in 2002 and 2003 and was the 2004 runner-up here to Sharapova. The American star captured this year's Australian Open by pasting Sharapova in the finale in Melbourne.
Up next for Williams will be No. 10 Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who rebounded from an opening set loss to defeat No. 19 Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In an upset, five-time major titlist Martina Hingis was sent packing, as the ninth-seeded veteran lost to American Laura Granville 6-4, 6-2. Hingis captured Wimbledon as a 16-year-old 10 years ago, as she corralled three of the four Grand Slam titles back in 1997. The "Swiss Miss" hasn't secured a major championship since the 1999 Aussie Open.
There was another upset on Day 5 as No. 31 Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands outlasted eight seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.
On Saturday, the second-seeded Sharapova battles Ai Sugiyama as third-round action continues while No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo will play 26th seed Mara Santangelo. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the fifth seed, squares off against Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 6 Ana Ivanovic will play Aravane Rezai. Venus Williams will also be in action as she will take on Akiko Morigami.