Sport - Tennis

Zvonareva in last four

DOHA: Vera Zvonareva defeated top-ranked Jelena Jankovic 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the WTA Tour’s season-ending event, while Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic pulled out.

Zvonareva and Jankovic both advanced to the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships because of their winning records in the round-robin stage of the tournament. At No. 9, Zvonareva is the lowest-ranked player in the eight-woman field but she put on a poised performance to beat Jankovic.

Earlier, Ivanovic withdrew from her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova because of a virus, even though the losing records of both players meant neither had a chance of advancing to the semifinals.

Serena Williams pulled out with a stomach injury before her match against Dementieva, handing the Russian a spot in the final four.— AP

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