Petkovic upsets Jankovic, Clijsters survives Ivanovic

Germany’s Andrea Petkovic pulled off another upset at the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday, defeating sixth seed Jelena Jankovic to move into the semi-finals, while Kim Clijsters needed all her big-match experience just to stay in the tournament. The 21st seed Petkovic, fresh from beating world number one Caroline Wozniacki on Monday, showed her exciting promise again with a 2-6 6-2 6-4 over Jankovic. World number two Clijsters survived five match points to beat Ana Ivanovic, winning 7-6 3-6 7-6 to keep alive her title defense. With some gutsy play from the baseline, the energetic Petkovic turned things around in the second set, saving four break points with her improving serve. Jankovic fought back in the third, building a 4-2 lead, but Petkovic reeled off four games in a row to finish it, including a thrilling seven-deuce final game. Petkovic will face the winner of the match between Russian Maria Sharapova and Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru, being played later on Tuesday. While the 23-year-old Petkvovic celebrated her place in the final four with her trademark ‘Petko Dance’, Ivanovic was reduced to banging rackets after yet another reminder of her frequent inability to finish off matches. The game, delayed by rain from Monday, was there for the taking at 5-1 when Ivanovic failed to convert four match points and she squandered another opportunity at 5-3 before losing the deciding tie-break.