Oct 5, 2008, 1:49 GMT
Stuttgart - New world number one Jelena Jankovic rallied to beat Venus Williams 6-7 (8-10), 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday for a place in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in which she meets the 2006 champion Nadia Petrova.
Jankovic, 23, missed a set point in the tiebreak of the first set, but finally defeated Williams for the fifth time in eight meetings in 2 hours 45 minutes.
Jankovic will reclaim the top spot in the rankings on Monday, dethroning US Open champion Serena Williams who went out early in Stuttgart.
'It was very tough. You have to play at your best against Venus to win. I am happy to get to the final,' said the second-seeded Jankovic.
'Maybe I wanted it more in the third set.'
Jankovic won her second title of the year at the China Open last week in Beijing and is now playing in her fifth 2008 decider, against Petrova who defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-4 in the first semi-final and is yet top drop a set.
'I have had two tough matches but some energy left for the final. Nadia plays well indoors. I will try my best to win a second title in two weeks,' said Jankovic.
Jankovic leads their series 5-2, but the confident Petrova said: 'I have saved a lot of energy, I am ready for tomorrow.'
After all, Jankovic took two hours to defeat Vera Zvonareva in two tiebreaks in the quarters and spent even more time on court on Saturday.
She traded breaks with the sixth-seeded Williams early on and then wasted a set point at 8-7 in the tiebreak. Williams took the set three points later when Jankovic hit a forehand long.
Jankovic squandered an early lead again in the second set but locked the sets with another break in the 12th game.
She carried the momentum into the final set where she raced off to a 3-0 lead, saved break points at 3-1 and won on her second match point when Williams hit a groundstroke long.
Jankovic complained that Williams took a long time before serving and also said that she required two painful injections before the match after tearing a toe nail in Friday's match.
'I was really fortunate to play. I got two injections, they hurt so much I was screaming,' said Jankovic.
Williams said: 'I made too many errors, that's always tough. Less errors would have helped.'
Petrova, 26, needed just 1:29 hours to beat Azarenka for the second time in three meetings, wrapping up the duel of unseeded players with a service winner.
Azarenka, 19, ran out of steam after upsetting eight seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round and Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in a quarter-final marathon.
'I am so excited to be back in the final. When I stay focused everything goes well,' said Petrova.
The 18th-ranked Petrova chose the Porsche sports car after winning in 2006, but would opt for the prize money of 100,000 dollars this time around instead of the car.
'I am still trying to get the first car to Moscow. I think this time I will take the money,' Petrova said.
Jankovic joked that she already had 'a better' Porsche at home and would also chose the cheque.
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