Tennis champ Jankovic battles into quarters

Defending champion Jelena Jankovic had to battle her way into the quarter-finals of Stuttgart's WTA Thursday as crowd-favourite Sabine Lisicki went down fighting.

The 19-year-old German, ranked 42nd in the world, broke the former world number one in the second set and pushed her all the way before she losing 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 and was rewarded with a standing ovation when she finally bowed out.

Having lost the first set 7-5, Lisicki showed tremendous mental strength by fighting back from 4-2 down to take the second 7-5 using her forehand to devastating effect.

In the end she hit 18 winning shots off her forehand, compared to Jankovic's two, and smashed five aces to her opponent's one.

But Jankovic, the third seed and fourth in the world, showed her class when she fought back from 40-0 down, on her own serve, at 3-3 in the third set to win the game and ultimately the match.

"She gave me a hard time," said a breathless Jankovic after the two hours 13 minute match.

"She played really great and she served really well, she was hitting her serves hard - between 180 and 190km/h - and not many girls can do that.

"I am just pleased to have got through the match."

Jankovic will play either Italy's Flavia Pennetta or sixth seed Nadia Petrova in Friday's quarter-final.

Earlier Olympic champion Elena Dementieva booked her place in the last eight with a straight sets win over Hungary's Agnes Szavay.

The 27-year-old Russian pin-up, who is the second seed here, came back from 4-1 down in the first set to win the tie-break which broke her 20-year-old opponent's spirit as the Beijing gold medallist won 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.

"I really had a slow start, it was tough to come back from 4-1 down," said Dementieva.

"I won the tie-break and she was very disappointed about that. She didn't fight so hard in the second set.

"I am still finding my feet on clay-court and my footwork needs to improve."

Dementieva will play France's Marion Bartoli in Friday's quarter-final after the 24-year-old knocked out seventh-seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 and had to work all the way.

"I knew she has a great backhand and it is always tough to play Caroline, I have never beaten her before," said Bartoli, who is now three games from the tournament winner's prize of a brand-new Porsche sports car.

And Bartoli, 13th in the world rankings, said she is looking forward to facing world number three Dementieva again having beaten her twice, and lost to her twice, in 2007.

"The last time I played Elena on clay, I beat her at the French Open, she has improved since then, but so have I.

"If I play like I did today I have a chance to beat her."

Fifth-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova will play Argentina's Gisela Dulko in the quarter-final after beating China's Li Na on Thursday as the Russian recovered from losing the first set to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

"It was all about keeping the faith," said Kuznetsova.

"Things were cool from the second set onwards, I was hitting the ball well and I enjoyed myself."

Polish eighth seed Agnieszka Radwanska had no such problems booking her quarter-final place with a 6-3, 6-3 against qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria.

She will play either world number one Dinara Safina or Daniela Hantuchova on Friday for a place in the semi-final.