• Dubai Tennis Championships

Serena overcomes angry Jankovic to reach semi-finals

Serena Williams booked her place in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships after beating Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-2, but the pair once again encountered a heated exchange on court.

When closing in on victory, world No.1 Williams appeared to slow Jankovic down when the latter was serving, and the pair exchanged words, with Jankovic talking to the chair umpire as well, and Williams apparently saying: "Are you going to do this again, Jelena?"

The first time Williams and Jankovic have had an incident like this was back in April 2013. Williams claimed she was not prepared for a serve in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, with Jankovic believing her opponent was deliberately slowing her down despite being in a crouched position to receive the serve. Williams went on to say: "Honestly, you got a problem? I'm not the one."

And once again the issue on Jankovic's serve appeared, although when Williams clinched the victory, they seemed to settle their differences at the net.

Williams, who has never won the premier event in Dubai, admitted she is not quite at her best. "It definitely felt a lot more comfortable than my first match [against Ekaterina Makarova].

"There were some shots I missed today that I would never have missed a month ago, so I'm still getting a little rust off, but it feels good overall. And I'm still trying to make sure I keep going in the right direction."

Alize Cornet will be Serena Williams' last four opponent after the French No.1 defeated Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5 6-3.

Venus Williams and former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will face each other in the semi-finals after they defeated Flavia Pennetta and Sorana Cirstea respectively in straight sets.

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