INDIAN WELLS, California-- Jelena Jankovic came from 2-4 down in the second set to book her place in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Russian Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday.
The sixth-seeded Serbian, on serve, ended an error-strewn match lasting one hour, 42 minutes at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden when her opponent struck a backhand long.
Jankovic, who will next meet either eighth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur or Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, bowed her head before pumping her right fist in celebration.
"I am just happy to be in the semi-finals again," the world number nine said at the courtside after reaching the last four for the first time on this year's WTA Tour. "Today was not easy."
Jankovic, a winner of 11 Tour titles, piled up 21 unforced errors in a match of wildly fluctuating quality while the Russian totalled 40.
"Kleybanova is a really tough opponent," added Jankovic. "She hits that really flat ball. Sometimes I think I have her on the run and then she just comes up with some unbelievable shots.
"She's a tricky player and can throw you off your rhythm at times. I just tried to stay focused, to play the best that I can under those circumstances. I was able to get through this match, so I'm really pleased."
Jankovic, a semi-finalist at Indian Wells in 2008, broke Kleybanova in the third game of the match before taking the opening set in 50 minutes in hot early afternoon sunshine.
The second went with serve until the sixth game when Jankovic was broken after hitting a backhand long to trail 2-4.
However the former world number one immediately broke back after the 23rd-seeded Russian twice double-faulted and Kleybanova also lost serve in the ninth.
Jankovic, who hit only seven winners in the match compared to 19 from her opponent, made no mistake when serving for a place in the last four, ending the Russian's unbeaten run of eight matches.
Kleybanova, who made her WTA Tour debut at Indian Wells aged 14 in 2004, won her first title on the circuit in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month.
"I'm really happy that I got so far this week," said the Russian, who was taken to three sets in her first three matches here. "They've been really long, tough matches for me.
"Most important is that I've been fighting a lot and I played some good matches here. It's always experience."
Stosur and 28th-seeded Martinez Sanchez were scheduled to play their quarter-final later on Thursday.
Second-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki and fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland advanced to the last four on Wednesday and will play their semi-final on Friday.
