• Cincinnati Masters

Serena too strong for Jankovic in Cincinnati

Serena Williams has yet to win the title in Cincinnati © Getty Images

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Serena Williams comfortably booked her place in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters after brushing aside Jelena Jankovic in less than an hour.

The world No.1 won 6-1 6-3 to pick up her 10th victory in 14 career meetings against Jankovic in the space of 58 minutes.

Williams dropped just one game in a first set which lasted 25 minutes. Former world No.1 Jankovic looked as though she was going to mount a fightback when she broke to take a 2-1 lead in the second set.

However, Williams came storming back to take five of the next six games to reach the last four and is now two wins away from winning a maiden Cincinnati crown.

"She's beaten me several times, so I knew today I just had to be focused and do the best I could," Williams said.

"It didn't seem fast. I was just trying my best. And she played some great points. I was just trying to not make many errors, stay focused and do the best that I could. I had some unbelievable fans in the back who were totally helping me out, too.

"Of all the tournaments in the United States, Cincinnati is probably the tournament where I've done the least well," she said. "So it's nice to take that extra step."

Williams will take on Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals after the former world No.1 defeated Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 7-6(5).

Fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova survived a match full of poor serving and beat second-seed Simona Halep 3-6 6-4 6-4. Each player had her serve broken eight times during the two-and-a-half hour match. Sharapova double-faulted 11 times.

Sharapova, who beat Halep in the French Open final, will play ninth-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who beat Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-3.

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