Injury-free Jankovic one step away from title glory
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Smiling from ear to ear after reaching her first grand slam final at the U.S. Open, Jelena Jankovic said overcoming a series of injuries had helped her through to Saturday's title showdown.
The Serbian second seed advanced from the last four for the first time in five attempts by edging out Olympic champion Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-4 6-4 on Friday, setting up a final against American fourth seed Serena Williams.
Having been hampered since the start of the year with a series of niggles, Jankovic's willingness to run down every ball and her mental strength kept alive her chances of regaining the number one ranking.
"This has been the first grand slam (this year) that I don't have any injuries or don't have any issues bothering me," Jankovic told reporters.
"(In the past) I wasn't thinking about tennis, I was thinking: 'Oh, my God, this is hurting. This is bothering me.' So I was really struggling.
"I started with a lot of injuries. It was like a chain, going from one injury to another. I had some kind of bacteria for like three or four months where I was blowing my nose the whole time and I couldn't breathe and all these problems.
"Now I'm healthy and I really want to do well. I'm really focused, I really believe in myself and I'm really going one match at a time. I'm happy to be in the final for the first time."
WINDY CONDITIONS
Jankovic coped better than Dementieva in the windy conditions and felt she benefited by holding a mental edge.
"Mentally, I feel I'm a lot stronger because I really believe in myself," she said.
"I really want to do this and I think it's about time for me to make that step forward to break that barrier and go a long way.
"I want to win a grand slam and this is why I came here. Not having injuries, not having some problems, is giving me a good opportunity to be here, so I'm really thankful for that."
Jankovic beat Williams on the way to the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January but accepts she will need to be at her best to repeat the feat against the twice U.S. Open champion.
"Overall I think she is the strongest player on the tour, together with her sister," Jankovic said of Serena and her older sibling Venus. "Nobody has the power that they have.
"If you want to really win when they're in form, you really have to be on the top of your level and you really have to go for every shot and really have to run a lot.
"So it will be difficult, but it's doable."
(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
