Paris: World No. 1 Dinara Safina came from behind to survive her first real test at the French Open on Tuesday, reaching the semi-finals after beating feisty Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The Russian, who had dropped only five games in her first four matches, more than doubled that figure in the 23-minute first set, as the ninth seed gave Safina a taste of her own medicine with some aggressive crosscourt shots.
Safina, seeking her first Grand Slam title, racked up a double break in the second before being pegged back to 4-4.
She broke in the next game and served out the set, levelling the match when Azarenka's forehand return went long.
The Belarussian threw down her racket in frustration and Safina quickly went a break up in the third.
The top seed seized control with another break in the seventh, clinching victory when Azarenka's service return clipped the net and bounced out.
Jankovic ousted
Serbian fifth seed Jelena Jankovic learnt some harsh lessons on Monday after Romanian high school student Sorana Cirstea beat her 3-6, 6-0, 9-7 in the French Open fourth round.
Jankovic, who had reached the Roland Garros semi-finals for the past two years, blamed a lack of confidence for allowing herself to be outfoxed by the 19-year-old's devastating net play.
The Serbian former world No.1 served for the match in the 11th game of the third set and was two points away from victory but the tenacious world number 41 broke when Jankovic hit long.
"I should've closed the match out at 6-5. I had 30-0, what more can I ask for myself?" she told a news conference.
"I should have gone for more and I should have risked. But I didn't do that and it cost me the match. I need my confidence back. I need to go for my shots, I need to have that belief that they're going to go in," she said.
Jankovic, who said her confidence had been hit by a shaky start to the year in which she lost the No. 1 ranking, stormed through the first three games before being broken in the seventh.
She immediately broke back and claimed the set when Cirstea hit long.
She never got into the second set as Cirstea made regular charges to the net to send a series of winners past her.
Cirstea, who lists geography and English as her favourite subjects at school, unleashed a sizzling crosscourt backhand to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final against Australian 30th seed Samantha Stosur.
"It's a great feeling, and the most important is that I'm happy with my game and the way I'm playing," said Cirstea. "I hope I can keep up like this, and hope it's just the beginning."
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