Jankovic beats Petrova and Beijing smog to reach semis

BEIJING, Sep 22 (Reuters) Jelena Jankovic claimed another top-10 victim when she beat third seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 6-4 4-6 6-2 to go through to the semi-finals of the China Open today.

The 21-year-old Serbian also had to contend with the polluted Beijing air in a tight two-hour contest against the world number seven and will play French top seed Amelie Mauresmo or American Lindsay Davenport for place in the final.

China's 60th-ranked Peng Shuai also got through to the last four with a 7-6 3-6 6-2 win over Japan's Ai Sugiyama and next faces either compatriot Li Na or second seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Jankovic and Petrova split the first two sets and exchanged breaks at the start of the decider but the Serbian broke again to take a 4-1 lead and Petrova, who called out the trainer to take a look at her left thigh, was never allowed back into the contest.

''It was a tough match and I was just fighting to win,'' the sixth seeded Jankovic told reporters.

''I had difficulty breathing out there, It's pretty polluted. I think I used a whole box of tissues because I was really struggling out there.'' After starting the year with only one win in her first 11 matches, Jankovic's season turned with a run to the quarter-finals in Rome and she has lost only 12 of her last 46 matches.

A semi-final appearance at the US Open earlier this month came on the back of successive victories over top 10 players Nicole Vaidisova, Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva.

''I have a lot of confidence, I'm beating a lot of top 10 players and I'm just enjoying myself and having fun,'' the 17th-ranked Jankovic added.

Local hope Peng also called for the trainer after claiming the error-littered first set in her all-Asian match against Sugiyama.

The 20-year-old Chinese, who said earlier this week that she had considered quitting the game at the start of the year when an injury triggered a crisis in confidence, seemed to have a problem with her arm and Sugiyama pounced to win the second set.

Roared on by her home crowd, Peng bounced straight back and clinched a place in her fifth career WTA semi-final when Sugiyama netted a backhand after two hours and 35 minutes.

Reuters PM GC1541