It would not have been a surprise if Kremlin Cup semifinal competition wound up an all-Russian affair, but Jelena Jankovic and Flavia Pennetta did not let that happen. Jankovic defeated Pennetta today, 7-6, 6-3, to reach tomorrow's semifinal match. This was obviously a close match (the tiebreak score was 8-6), so I'll take this opportunity to repeat my assertion that Pennetta deserves the Comeback Player of the Year award.
In another closely contested quarterfinal, defending champion Elena Dementieva defeated countrywoman Nadia Petrova, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. And in yet another close one, Vera Zvonareva defeated Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5, 6-4.
The fourth semifinalist is Dinara Safina, who won the first set against Svetlana Kuznetsova, and was down 2-5 in the second, only to find a way--as Safina now does most of the time--to turn the set around. She won the match, 6-4, 7-5. Safina has now won the last four matches she has played against Kuznetsova, and holds a 7-4 head-to-head record against her.
(My post headline pales compared with the one on the tour site: "Three Sisters Left to Thwart Jelena")
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