BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Venus Williams took her tennis seriously Wednesday night at the U.S. Open. After dropping the first set 4-6 to No. 3-seeded Jelena Jankovic, the elder Williams roared back to take the second set 6-1, then battled to a 7-6 (4) win in the third set to advance to the U.S. Open women's semifinals.
Next on Williams' agenda is No. 1-ranked Justine Henin, slayer of sister Serena in the quarterfinals of the last three majors. Williams watched Henin thump her sister Tuesday and is seeking vengeance.
"I wasn't happy with that result at all. I was sad that she lost. I didn't like to see her so upset," Venus said. "I definitely have to try to win for Williams."
The other semifinal has 2004 Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova against No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze in a matchup between Russians.
Jankovic made four bad mistakes to allow Williams to take control in the decisive third-set tiebreaker.
"We had some long points, and I was the one making the errors. I maybe was a little bit excited," Jankovic said. "I thought that it will go in, but it didn't."
Speaking to the spectators afterward, Jankovic said: "First of all, I want to say, 'Well done,' to Venus. She deserved to win. She was better at the end."
That was quite a different take on things from a disappointed loser than Serena Williams offered after her straight-set setback against Henin, including a reference to the Belgian's "lucky shots."
