Sharapova, Williams ousted in LA semi-finals

CARSON, California, Aug 13 (Reuters) The prospect of a dream Los Angeles Open final between top seed Maria Sharapova and twice champion Serena Williams evaporated when both players were upset in the semi-finals.

A fatigued Sharapova, chasing a second successive WTA Tour title, went down 7-5 6-2 to fellow Russian Elena Dementieva while Williams, playing her third event of the year because of a knee injury, lost 6-4 6-3 to Serbian Jelena Jankovic yesterday.

The 21-year-old Jankovic, who beat Williams when the pair met for the second time in Dubai last year, clinched the opening set by breaking her opponent in the 10th game before the American was warned for racket abuse.

Refusing to be intimidated by the power of Williams, the Serb returned superbly, was rock-solid at the net and controlled most of the rallies from the baseline.

Although severely tested by Williams on her own serve, Jankovic broke the American again in the fourth game of the second set to pave the way for victory.

Former world number one Williams, making a series of uncharacteristic unforced errors, was never able to get back into the match and the Serb held serve out to love to book her place in Sunday's final.

''I was surprised with what I got back today, but I knew that's what I had to do against Serena because she hits the ball so hard,'' 16th-seeded Jankovic told reporters.

NOT SCARED ''I took the ball quite early and handled her power pretty well. I think that made the difference. I wasn't scared at all.'' Despite losing, Williams was satisfied with her week.

''I still believe I'm going in the right direction,'' said the seven-times grand slam champion, who is projected to rise from 110 in the rankings to around 75 on Monday.

''It's only my second tournament for some time and I'm definitely doing better than I was my first week back.'' In the first semi-final, the 19-year-old Sharapova lost a pulsating opening set in just over an hour after battling back from 1-5 down.

Third-seeded Dementieva, using superb groundstrokes from the baseline, then took advantage of a series of unforced errors by her opponent to sweep through the second set.

It was her second victory over Sharapova in seven career meetings and ended a run of eight wins in a row by the world number four.

TOUGH PLAYER ''I feel really great,'' said an elated Dementieva. ''I have lost to her twice this year and I was really looking forward to this match because she is such a tough player.

''This win really means a lot to me. I think I had a very good attitude today. I was very calm and I played with lots of patience.

''When you play against Maria, she is a great fighter and never gives up. That makes it difficult to play against her.'' Sharapova, who had not dropped a set in her run of eight wins, felt she had paid the price for playing nine matches in 13 days.

''I haven't played this much in a while,'' she said after an erratic performance featuring 46 unforced errors and eight double-faults.

''I just felt a little flat today. I put two points together and would deflate for the next four. But I guess that's normal after playing so many matches in a row.

''But she made me work for it,'' added Sharapova, who was broken seven times by Dementieva but saved six match points on her serve in the final game. ''She played really well defensively.'' REUTERS PM PC1250