Month of October , 2009

Former world number one Maria Sharapova advanced to the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open by outfoxing Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4 7-5 on Thursday.

Earlier, seventh seed Jelena Jankovic eased past France's Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-3 to reach the last four of the $2 million Tokyo tournament.

Sharapova, 25th in the world following shoulder surgery a year ago, recovered from a slow start to keep event organisers happy after a glut of early exits by top-seeded players.

Seventh seed Jelena Jankovic overpowered Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open Thursday.

The Serbian, who finished 2008 as the top-ranked women's player in the world, never looked in danger of following the top six seeds out of the $2 million Tokyo event.

"It makes a big difference when my mind is on tennis," Jankovic told reporters after beating Bartoli for the first time in their last five meetings. "I play at another level.

Frenchman Gael Monfils punished Martin Vassallo Arguello with 14 break points on the way to a 6-4 6-2 victory at the Malaysia Open to set up a quarter-final with top seed Nikolay Davydenko in Kuala Lumpur.

-Belgian U.S. Open semi-finalist Yanina Wickmayer and compatriot Xavier Malisse must appear before a Belgian anti-doping commission after violating its rules, Belgian news agency Belga reported on Thursday.

Wickmayer broke the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) "whereabouts" rule three times in the past 18 months, Belga said, citing a spokesman for the Flemish Doping Tribunal.

Under the rule, athletes must tell their national anti-doping authorities where they will be at a chosen hour between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. each day for a three-month period.

Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga opened the defence of his Thailand Open crown with a tricky 6-7 7-6 7-6 win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis to reach the quarter-finals on Thursday.

The Frenchman had to win two tie-breaks to get past the Latvian in a tense two-hour 12-minute match, his first outing in the $608,500 tournament.

Big serves dominated the match, with Tsonga firing 20 aces to Gulbis's 23 in a closely fought encounter that the Latvian was unlucky to lose.

Maria Sharapova breezed past Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic at the Pan Pacific Open on Thursday to keep on course for a potential final showdown against Jelena Jankovic.

The Russian former world number one, champion here in 2005 but unseeded this time around, shrugged off a service break down in each set before scoring a 6-4, 7-5 victory to advance.

Belgian US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer and compatriot Xavier Malisse must appear before a Belgian anti-doping commission after violating its rules, Belgian news agency Belga reported on Thursday.

Wickmayer broke the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) "whereabouts" rule three times in the past 18 months, Belga said, citing a spokesman for the Flemish Doping Tribunal.

Under the rule, athletes must tell their national anti-doping authorities where they will be at a chosen hour between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. each day for a three-month period.

ATP World Tour No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 11 Robin Soderling will clash in the semi-finals of the inaugural Proton Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2009 after both recorded straight-sets wins over strong opposition Friday.

With success at the ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard-court tennis tournament this week, Soderling and Davydenko are looking to strengthen their bids to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at the O2 Arena in London, 22-29 November.

Former world number one Jelena Jankovic overcame an injury scare to beat Li Na of China for a place in the final at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The Serbian seventh seed recovered from a service break down in both sets to score a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Asia's number one player in the semi-finals.

After taking the first set, Jankovic hit a forehand shot into the net to lose the third game of the second set, going behind 1-2.

Then she needed court-side treatment to her right arm at the beginning of the fourth game.

Gilles Simon survived a scare before booking his place in the semi-finals of the PTT Thailand Open. The second seed dropped the first set but recovered to defeat World No. 66 Evgeny Korolev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Friday at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament in Bangkok.

The Frenchman, making his debut this week in Bangkok, won just one point more than Korolev in the pair’s third meeting but broke serve three times as he improved to a 3-0 record against the Russian after one hour and 43 minutes.

Former world number one Maria Sharapova overcame a mid-match slump to grind out a 6-3 2-6 6-4 victory over Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska at the Pan Pacific Open on Friday, setting up a final against Serbia's Jelena Jankovic.

Seventh seed Jankovic had earlier overpowered China's Li Na 6-4 6-3 in the day's first semifinal at the $2 million tournament in Tokyo.

"It will be a tough final," Sharapova said in a courtside interview. "Jelena is one of the best players in the world and I'll have to fight for every point."