TENNIS – Sara Errani battled through Jelena Jankovic in straight sets with 6-3 7-5 in 1 hour and 48 minutes to become the first Italian player to reach the final at the Internazionali d’Italia at the Foro Italico in Rome since Annelies Ullstein Bossi triumphed in 1950, although Raffaella Reggi won the 1985 edition of this tournament when it was held in Taranto. She is the fourth Italian player in history to reach the final at the Internazionali d’Italia after Lucia Valerio, Ullstein and Raffaella Reggi. Diego Sampaolo
Interviews, results, order of play, draws of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome
Sara Errani played one of the best matches of her career against World Number 8 but former World Number 1 Jelena Jankovic, who won two consecutive Rome titles in 2007 and 2008.
After Jankovic got the first break of the match in the first in the third game for 2-1, Errani broke back to draw level to 2-2 with a forehand passing shot and converted on her fifth break chance to take a 4-2 lead after a hard-fought game with a forehand passing shot. Errani backed up this break by holding serve to pull away to 5-2. Errani held serve to love to close out the first set in 49 minutes as Jankovic sent a forehand wide.
Jankovic bounced back in the second set and missed two break points before breaking serve for 3-1 with a down-the-line backhand. The Serb went on to storm to 4-1. Errani rallied by breaking serve in the next game reeling off three consecutive games to draw level to 4-4. The Italian broke serve in the ninth game to edge Jankovic 5-4. Jankovic broke straight back to draw level to 5-5. Errani hit three winners to break serve again for 6-5. Jankovic made three unforced errors in the 12th game for 15-40. Errani got two match points and wrapped up the match 7-5 in just under two hours as Jankovic hit her backhand into the net.
Errani committed 11 unforced errors to Jankovic’s 28. Errani converted on five of her 16 break points
Despite the high number of Italian players in recent years like Errani, Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci, no Italian players had reached the final in the Internazionali d’Italia since 1985 when Raffaella Reggi won this title when the Italian Open was held in Taranto, although the tournament had not the same prestige as this year. Errani reached the semifinal last year.
This week she did better beating two Top-10 players Li Na in the quarter final and Jelena Jankovic in the semifinal. She beat a top-3 player for the first time in her career.
Errani has achieved her best result since she qualified for the Roland Garros Final in 2012. It was certainly one of her best matches at the same level as her win over Samantha Stosur in the 2012 Roland Garros semifinal.
“I just tried to keep focused on my game and what I had to do. The motivation was the crowd”, said Errani.
“There were a few moments when I thought I might not pull it off but the fans were huge. The support from my coach Pablo Lozano my friend Roberta Vinci, my mother Fulvia and my brother and manager Davide were the key. I am not playing for myself but for them and that makes me stronger”, said Errani
“Sara has played one of the most difficult matches since I trained her. She is a great player. When she in trouble and everything looks to be lost, she always finds the strength to bounce back”, said Errani’s coach Pablo Lozano
“The crowd was all on her side but it’s normal. She is the local player. I tried to stay focused on my game and my tennis but she was the better player today. She is not going to give you free points. She keeps making you hit and hit and I needed to come more to the net and finish those points. When I was doing that I was winning but when I stopped she took advantage”, said Jankovic.
