MOSCOW, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - Svetlana Kuznetsova kept her nerve to ride a fast start and beat former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in straight sets on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Italian Open in Rome.
The Russian won the first set 6-1 and came through a nervy second-set tie break 7-3 to beat the two-time defending champion in an hour and 38 minutes. The Serbian No. 3 seed, now ranked fourth in the world, beat Kuznetsova in the 2007 final.
The seventh seed will now face rising Belarusian star Victoria Azarenko in the semifinals after the sixth seed beat Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
Friday's other semifinal will pit Russian world No. 1 Dinara Safina or Spain's Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez against Venus Williams of the United States or Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.
