In a meeting of two WTA veterans, top seed Serena Williams will face off against former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the China Open finals in Beijing.
Williams faced No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals, which again proved to be a difficult task for the Polish star. Radwanska was seeking her first ever win over the world No. 1, who struck 14 winners en route to taking the first set 6-2.
After the first set, Williams called for a medical time out to have a trainer assess some back spasms she was dealing with. But once the second set got underway, it was a normal resumption of business as Williams again took control early.
A total of 31 winners later, Williams wrapped up the comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 win in 72 minutes. Radwanska is now 0-7 lifetime against Williams.
Williams is now into her 12th final of the season, the most of any woman on tour since Kim Clijsters reached 15 finals back in 2003.
Jankovic Defeats Kvitova For First Time; Reaches Finals
No. 8 seed Jelena Jankovic will seek her second China Open title after knocking out Petra Kvitova in the earlier semifinal.
Both women traded multiple breaks in the opening set that eventually went to a tiebreak. Kvitova, however, managed to edge Jankovic 9-7 in the breaker.
But that advantage soon faded for Kvitova as Jankovic rolled through the second set 6-1. The last few weeks for Kvitova, which included winning Tokyo, seemed to catch up to the Czech. Kvitova couldn't stop Jankovic from completing a 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-1 comeback win.
Kvitova later revealed on Twitter she was dealing with back pain in the match and will not compete in next week's Linz event.
With the victory, Jankovic will now rise to No. 8 in the world, a ranking she hasn't held since 2011. Beijing marks the third final of the season for the Serbian, who earlier won in Bogota. Her last meeting against Williams was in the Charleston finals. Williams leads the overall head to head 6-4.
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