Rome, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - Italian crowd favorite Sara Errani defeated former two-time champion Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday to advance to the final at the Italian Open.
The 10th-seeded Errani earned 16 break points and converted five against the Serbian in the first of Saturday's two semifinals on the red clay at Foro Italico.
Errani will be appearing in her second final of the year and 16th of her career. A loss to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at Paris back in early February dropped her record to 7-8 in title matches.
The sixth-seeded Jankovic had won back-to-back titles at this event in 2007 and 2008. She was also a runner-up in 2010.
Reigning champion Serena Williams and former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic will meet in the other semifinal.
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