Jankovic, Venus Advance to Charleston Quarterfinals

CHARLESTON, SC, USA - Just a few weeks ago in the early rounds of the Sony Ericsson Open, Jelena Jankovic had Mara Santangelo on the ropes and faltered; but the ending was much different at the Family Circle Cup on Thursday afternoon, as the Serbian star never let go, powering into the quarterfinals of the Tier I event with a 63 60 win.

Three weeks ago in Miami, Jankovic seemed headed for an easy victory as she built a 62 52 lead against Santangelo, but the tricky Italian player rallied back, notching her first ever win over a Top 10 player in three sets, 26 76(3) 64. The events were much different in Charleston however; the No.2-seeded Jankovic started and finished strongly, winning the last nine games to rout the No.16 seed in just 48 minutes.

Jankovic said the seventh game of the first set, when she broke away from a 3-3 tie and never looked back, was critical.

"That game was the key of the match," she said. "I was trying to hang in there and I won that game. I was playing aggressively, and then I just cruised through it. I was focused throughout the match. I was just trying to do my job out there."

The head-to-head series between Jankovic is now 2-1 in the Serbian's favor. She won their first meeting in two tight sets at Dubai in February.

"I didn't expect to have such a short match like this," Jankovic continued. "Before we had some tough matches, and she has a really tough game. I don't really like her style of play. It doesn't suit me at all, but today I was focused and I did well."

Such a resistance-free path to the quarterfinals at the 2007 Family Circle Cup is a complete turnaround from her 2006 experience here; she was upset in the first round. In face, she fell first round at her first four clay court events last year, before finally finding her feet on the dirt at Rome in May. And it was there she began a turnaround that most recently took her to the world's Top 10.

"I'm a totally different player than I was last year. I've improved so much and I'm now in the Top 10, and I'm just a different player, so I don't really have to prove anything to anybody. All I want is to enjoy my game and give my best."

Joining Jankovic in the final eight will be No.4 seed Dinara Safina, No.9 seed Vera Zvonareva, No.10 seed Tatiana Golovin, No.12 seed Katarina Srebotnik, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Michaella Krajicek and Venus Williams, who all won Thursday. Read more about Williams' victory over Chinese Taipei's Chan Yung-Jan here.

Golovin had what was perhaps the toughest test of all of Thursday's winners, taking out China's Peng Shuai, 62 46 63. Peng had taken out one of the Family Circle Cup's most successful players, Patty Schnyder, the round before.

"I should've won the second set; I made a couple of stupid errors, which I think is due to the wind and me not being 100 percent physically," said Golovin, who had dropped two of her three previous encounters against Peng. "I was not really moving that well but I was glad that mentally I was able to tough it out in the end, and that I stayed strong. I really went to get that match."

Golovin spoke on the dynamic created by ATP legend Michael Chang's presence; he came on court when Peng requested him, as per the on-court coaching rule.

"It felt awkward having Chang on the court. It's like you're playing Peng and Chang at the same time - it's kind of intimidating. But I knew either way it was going to be tough, whether it was going to be Patty or Peng." (WTA)