Jankovic defeats Dementieva to gain semi-final berth

NEW YORK, Sep 5 (Reuters) Serbia's Jelena Jankovic exploited Elena Dementieva's weak serve to upset the fourth seed 6-2 6-1 today and advance to the semi-finals of the US Open.

Jankovic broke the Russian in all seven of Dementieva's service games to register a third straight win over a top 10 opponent.

The 19th seed will now play either French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne or Lindsay Davenport in the last four.

Dementieva had more winners than Jankovic, 16-6, but also had five double faults and no aces in the 62-minute match.

The Russian also had 39 unforced errors compared to 16 for Jankovic, who had never reached a grand slam quarter-final before this week.

Jankovic lost to Dementieva, a former US Open finalist, in the Los Angeles Open final last month.

Reuters SHB GC2247