Jelena Jankovic reaches semifinal of WTA final, defeats Caroline Wozniacki

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Jankovic stops Wozniacki, reaches Doha semifinal

DOHA, Qatar — Jelena Jankovic advanced to the semifinals of the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships on Friday after routing a tired Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-2 in the last group-stage round.

The former top-ranked Serb broke twice in the first set and then took a 4-0 lead in the second.

Wozniacki won two grueling three-set matches on Wednesday and Thursday and looked like she had simply run out of energy in the hot weather, often a step slow and failing to chase down balls.

“I just came out playing aggressively,” Jankovic said. “I really wanted to dictate the points.”

The 19-year-old Dane can still advance if Victoria Azarenka loses to alternate Agnieszka Radwanska later Friday.

Jankovic lost to Azarenka in straight sets in her first round-robin match, and won her second when the injured Dinara Safina retired in the third game. In total, she had spent 95 minutes on the court before a rest day on Thursday.

Wozniacki won two grueling three-set matches that lasted a combined 5 hours, 48 minutes. When she finally held serve for 4-1 in the second set, she raised her fist in mock triumph and laughed. She then broke Jankovic for the first time, but couldn’t muster a comeback as the Serb answered with her fifth break of the match before serving it out.

Wozniacki struggled with severe leg cramps before beating Vera Zvonareva on Thursday, but seemed to move OK on Friday.

Also Friday, Elena Dementieva played Russian compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova to determine the final semifinalist from the Maroon Group. Dementieva will advance with a win, while defending Venus Williams reaches the knockout stage if she loses.

The lucrative tournament is the last WTA Tour event of the year for the eight top-ranked women. Serena Williams has already secured a spot in the semifinals, along with the year-end No. 1 ranking.