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Jankovic crashes out in Kremlin Cup quarterfinals to Kleybanova

MOSCOW -- Defending champion and second seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Kremlin Cup here on Friday, the Serb defeated 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals by local hope Alisa Kleybanova.

The Russian, registering her second win over Serbia's Jankovic, ninth in the WTA rankings, said: “I'm really happy to win today.

“I beat her in Toronto earlier this year and I wanted to win in two sets today to prove that victory was not a fluke.”

The 20-year-old Muscovite looked confident and motivated from the start, breaking twice in the opening set for a 1-0 lead in 50 minutes, while former world number one Jankovic managed to reply only on one occasion.

In the second set Kleybanova, who is 27th in the WTA rankings, confirmed her firm intention to advance into the last four, producing two more breaks to win the set and the match in one hour 25 minutes.

Kleybanova will now meet Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who beat Vera Dushevina of Russia 6-3, 6-0.

Italy's veteran Francesca Schiavone, seeded eight, looked in command of her quarter-final clash with Russia's Maria Kirilenko from the start, clinching a comfortable 3-0 lead with an early break in the opening set.

Kirilenko broke back in the seventh game but the 29-year-old, runner-up here in 2005, produced another break in the eighth game to take the opening set in 46 minutes.

In the second set Schiavone underlined her domination on the courts of Moscow's Olympic indoor stadium - breaking twice for a 4-1 advantage.

Kirilenko, 22, managed to reduce the arrears with a break in the sixth game but that did not deter Schiavone from a 6-3, 6-2 victory to leverl the head-to-head record with Kirilenko at 2-2.

“I wasn't sure before the start of the match that I could win today,” Schiavone said. “Maria (Kirilenko) is a very serious opponent. And she performs very good playing at the end of the season.

In the semis Schiavone will face Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko, who experienced few troubles in her last eight clash with Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova clinching a 6-3, 6-3 win in one hour 22 minutes.

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