STUTTGART, Germany — Top-ranked Dinara Safina and defending champion Jelena Jankovic won in straight sets on Thursday to remain on course to meet in the Porsche Grand Prix semifinals.
Safina ended a three-match losing streak against Daniela Hantuchova by beating the Slovak 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.
“We’ve had some close matches in the past but I played well today,” said the Russian, who evened her matchups against Hantuchova at 3-3.
Jankovic outlasted Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 and will next play Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who won 6-2, 6-2 over sixth-seeded Nadia Petrova, the 2006 champion and 2008 runner-up.
If Safina beats eighth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in their quarterfinal, she could meet Jankovic, who started the year at No. 1, in the semis on Saturday.
Second-seeded Elena Dementieva overcame a slow start to beat Agnes Szavay of Hungary 7-6 (4), 6-1 and set up a quarterfinal against Marion Bartoli of France. Fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced.
Jankovic led 4-2 in the second set but couldn’t stop a comeback by the big-hitting Lisicki, who won her first WTA title in Charleston, South Carolina, two weeks ago.
Third-seeded Jankovic led again in the final set, but dropped serve from 4-2, 40-0. Lisicki, however, couldn’t hold her own in the next and Jankovic served out the match when Lisicki netted a return.
“She gave me a hard time,” Jankovic said. “She played real great, she was serving very hard. … She was hitting serves between (111 and 118 mph), and not many girls can do that. I am glad I got through the match.”
When Jankovic won Stuttgart last year, it was on a hard surface. She finished 2008 as the world No. 1 but went through a slump early this year after changing her fitness regime, but her game has improved since she moved to clay courts, including the title at Marbella this month.
Bartoli, a former Wimbledon runner-up, upset seventh-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-6 (6), 6-4 for the first time in four meetings.
Olympic champ Dementieva fell behind 4-1 before battling back to win the first set against Szavay. She cruised through the second, but then needed five match points to end it.
“I really had a slow start, it was tough to come back from 4-1 down,” Dementieva said. “I am still finding my feet on clay. It is my first tournament of the year (on clay) and my footwork needs to improve. It is just important to improve match by match, and make sure I am ready for the French Open.”
Fellow Russian Kuznetsova rallied to beat Li Na of China 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to set up a quarterfinal with Gisela Dulko of Argentina.
Radwanska beat Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6-3.
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