Jankovic blows second chance to top rankings

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova upset Jelena Jankovic 7-5 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Montreal Cup on Friday, ending the Serb's hopes of replacing compatriot Ana Ivanovic as world number one this week.

Following her shock third-round exit on Thursday, Ivanovic had left the door open for the second-ranked Jankovic to leapfrog over her by reaching Sunday's final.

However, for the second consecutive week, Jankovic failed to seize her opportunity, suffering a stunning centre court collapse at the hands of the 19-year-old Slovak.

"It doesn't matter, the first ranking. I want to be healthy," Jankovic told reporters. "I don't really think about number one.

"If it's going to happen, it will happen but at the moment I don't deserve that spot. I am not in the best shape."

Jankovic, whose bid for the number one spot last week at the Los Angeles Classic was ended with her loss to Dinara Safina in the semi-finals, had looked poised to race in to the last four after taking a 5-1 lead in the opening set.

Then she suddenly lost her way, Cibulkova sweeping the next eight games to take the opening set and a 2-0 lead in the second.

MISERABLE AFTERNOON

Growing more frustrated with each missed shot, when Jankovic did find the mark the ball was returned with venom by the hard-hitting Cibulkova, who ended a miserable afternoon for the Serb by closing out the match with another break.

"Until 5-1, I was doing quite well," Jankovic added.

"I was feeling good and I was hitting the ball well. But then all of a sudden I just got exhausted, completely lost my concentration.

"I'm still not in the best physical shape... I felt dizzy on the court. I needed a little bit of time after the match to come to life again. I'm still not feeling that strong."

The 31st-ranked Cibulkova said: "In the early games I was nervous and made a lot of mistakes.

"Then I found my rhythm and started believing in myself."

Cibulkova faces Marion Bartoli in Saturday's semi-finals after the 10th-seeded Frenchwoman advanced with a 6-2 6-3 win over Japan's Ai Sugiyama.

Seventh seed Safina, riding the momentum from her championship win in Los Angeles last weekend, rallied past Russian compatriot and world number four Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6 6-3 6-2 to reach the last four.

Safina will face Victoria Azarenka after the 11th seeded Belarusian ended 17-year-old Austrian Tamira Paszek's run with a 6-4 7-5 win.

(Editing by John O'Brien)