Notes: Serena Takes on Jankovic at US Open

In a Grand Slam US Open final that will also determine next week's world No.1 ranking, major finals debutante Jelena Jankovic takes on eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams.

This is the ninth Grand Slam final since the inception of computer singles rankings (November 1975) to feature two women battling it out for the No.1 ranking (for more information see p.3).

Jankovic and Williams are 3-3 in their lifetime series, with all six previous matches taking place outdoors on hardcourt; they are 1-1 in 2008, with Jankovic defeating Williams 63 64 in the Australian Open quarterfinals, and Williams gaining revenge, 61 57 63, in the Sony Ericsson Open final in Miami; it is their second career finals clash.

It is the first time since 2002 there has been an American in the women's singles final at Flushing Meadows; it was six years ago that Serena Williams defeated sister Venus 64 63 to win her second US Open title.

Prize money milestones: Should she win the title, Serena Williams, currently with $20,274,846, will overtake Martina Navratilova ($21,626,089) for No.3 on the all-time prize money list (Lindsay Davenport is currently No.1 with $22,087,173; Steffi Graf is No.2 ($21,895,277)); Elena Dementieva will pass $10 million despite her semifinal loss; likewise, Jelena Jankovic is assured of passing $5 million.

Jelena Jankovic advances to her career-first Grand Slam singles final in her 21st major main draw; the recent world No.1 is aiming to become the third Serbian woman in the Open Era (after Monica Seles* and Ana Ivanovic) to win a major singles title (Note: Seles represented Yugoslavia and the USA when she won her Grand Slam singles titles, but was born in Novi Sad, the second largest city in what is now Serbia).

Jankovic is aiming to become the 37th woman in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles title but only the eighth to win their first at the US Open.

Jankovic is appearing in her first final of any kind since successfully defending her Rome title in May; it is her third final of 2008 (1-1) and 16th of her career (6-9).

Should Jankovic win the title on Saturday, she will become the third woman in the computer rankings era (since November 1975) to win her first Grand Slam singles title after reaching No.1 in the world (after Amélie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters); Jankovic spent a week at No.1 last month, the 18th woman to hold the world No.1 ranking.

Jankovic recently became the second Serbian woman to reach No.1 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Singles Rankings; only two other countries have produced multiple top-ranked women's singles players – United States (8) and Belgium (2).

Serena Williams advances to her 12th career Grand Slam singles final, just one behind sister Venus's 13, although Serena's 8-3 record is superior to Venus's 7-6; it is her fourth US Open final (2-1).

Should Williams win the title it will elevate her to the world No.1 ranking for a 58th career week, having reigned in the top spot for 57 consecutive weeks between July 8, 2002 and August 10, 2003; at five years, one month, this would be the longest-ever gap between stints at No.1.

It is the first time Serena Williams – runner-up at Wimbledon in July – has advanced to consecutive Grand Slam finals since completing her "Serena Slam" at the 2003 Australian Open, having reached the 2002 Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open finals prior to that.

Williams is appearing in her fifth final of 2008 (3-1) and 44th of her career (31-12).

Williams is aiming to become the second straight winner (Henin in 2007) to claim the title without dropping a set; it would be the second time she has achieved the feat in New York (also 2002).

Williams – a two-time former champion here – is appearing in her first US Open singles final since her second title run in 2002 (she also won in 1999 in her first-ever Grand Slam singles final).

Three of Williams's six victims en route to the final have siblings who also play on the professional tennis circuit – Kateryna Bondarenko (sister Alona), Venus Williams (Serena) and Dinara Safina (brother Marat Safin).

Never before has a Williams sister defeated her sibling prior to the semifinals of a tournament and gone on to win the title; however, on the two previous occasions Serena has beaten Venus prior to a final (both times in a semifinal) she has gone on to win the title. (WTA Tour)