Key Biscayne, FL – Four-time runner-up Maria Sharapova whipped fellow former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic on Thursday to secure a berth in her fifth career Sony Open Tennis final.
The third-seeded Sharapova won the first 10 points of the match en route to blowing away the 22nd-seeded Jankovic 6-2, 6-1 in 63 minutes on a sun-drenched afternoon at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. The tall Russian superstar will appear in her third straight Key Biscayne championship match on Saturday.
The French Open titlist Sharapova broke her Serbian counterpart six times on Day 10 of this two-week event and is now 7-1 lifetime against the former U.S. Open runner-up Jankovic, who was a Key Biscayne finalist in 2008.
The red-hot career Grand Slam winner Sharapova is now riding an 11-match winning streak, which includes a title at Indian Wells two weeks ago. She will appear in her 48th career WTA final, seeking a 29th title.
Sharapova will meet the Serena Williams-Agnieszka Radwanska winner in Saturday's finale. The world No. 1 reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open queen Williams is a seven-time Key Biscayne finalist, including a whopping five titles, while Radwanska is the reigning champ, having beaten Sharapova in last year's title tilt in Florida.
Williams is a perfect 4-0 lifetime against Radwanska.
The mighty Williams is 59-7 lifetime at this event and currently tied with the legendary Steffi Graf for the most wins in Key Biscayne. She captured three straight titles here from 2002-04 and back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008.
The winner of this $4.195 million event will collect $724,000.
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