THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STUTTGART, Germany -- Jelena Jankovic, soon to become the No. 1 player in the world again, overcame foot pain to beat Wimbledon champion Venus Williams 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 Saturday and reach the Porsche Grand Prix final.
Jankovic will play Russian Nadia Petrova on Sunday and will be shooting for her second title in two weeks. The Serb won the China Open last week and will be the latest No. 1 when the new WTA Tour rankings come out Monday.
"It was a tough match, it's always tough to play Venus," said the 23-year-old, who now holds a 5-3 career edge over Williams.
Petrova moved within one win of capturing her second Porsche Grand Prix title when she beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-4 in the other semifinal match.
Jankovic has a broken toenail on her left foot and got two shots of painkillers to be able to play.
"I was really fortunate to play," Jankovic said. "I got two injections, they hurt so much I was screaming."
Williams, seeded-sixth, was playing in her first Stuttgart tournament in 10 years.
"She played well and I made too many errors," Williams said. "But I played some good points, too. It was a good competition."
Williams used her third set point to win the first when Jankovic hit a backhand long. Jankovic had also wasted a set point in the tiebreaker.
Jankovic squandered a 3-1 lead in the second set, wasted two break points at 3-3, but took the set with the help of a challenge. She did one of her trademark splits to get a ball back down the line.
It was called out but Jankovic challenged the call and the replay showed that the ball had hit the line and Jankovic tied the match.
The Serb broke serve for a 2-0 lead in the third, staved off a break point in the next game, two more in the fifth game and held for 5-2. An error by Williams gave Jankovic two match points. She wasted one with an error of her own, but Williams than put a forehand long.
."I wanted it more in the third maybe," Jankovic said. "I'm happy to get through this match. It's a good win for me."
In a match between two unseeded players, Petrova got early breaks in both sets against the 19-year-old Azarenka, who had upset Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals.
"I am so excited to be back in the final," said Petrova, a Russian who won the tournament in 2006. "The main thing for me is to stay focused, then everything goes well for me."
Petrova is looking for her second title of the year after winning in Cincinnati. Two years ago, Petrova was ranked third in the world but she has now dropped to No. 18.
She has not lost a set in three matches so far this week.
"I saved a lot of energy, I am ready for tomorrow," she said.
Petrova said she would probably choose the winner's purse US$100,000 rather than the red convertible Porsche offered as an alternative by the title sponsor of the indoor event.
"I am still trying to get the first car to Moscow," Petrova said, citing taxes and red tape.
She jumped to a 4-0 lead before Azarenka won the next three games, but Petrova stayed ahead to win the first set. Petrova also led 2-0 in the second, then lost the next three games but broke serve for a decisive 4-3 lead and won with a service winner on her second match point.
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