Injury-free Jankovic one step away from title glory

By Simon Cambers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Smiling from ear to ear after reaching her first grand slam final at the U.S. Open, Jelena Jankovic said overcoming a series of injuries had helped her through to Saturday's title showdown.

The Serbian second seed advanced from the last four for the first time in five attempts by edging out Olympic champion Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-4 6-4 on Friday, setting up a final against American fourth seed Serena Williams.

Having been hampered since the start of the year with a series of niggles, Jankovic's willingness to run down every ball and her mental strength kept alive her chances of regaining the number one ranking.

"This has been the first grand slam (this year) that I don't have any injuries or don't have any issues bothering me," Jankovic told reporters.

"(In the past) I wasn't thinking about tennis, I was thinking: 'Oh, my God, this is hurting. This is bothering me.' So I was really struggling.

"I started with a lot of injuries. It was like a chain, going from one injury to another. I had some kind of bacteria for like three or four months where I was blowing my nose the whole time and I couldn't breathe and all these problems.

"Now I'm healthy and I really want to do well. I'm really focused, I really believe in myself and I'm really going one match at a time. I'm happy to be in the final for the first time."

WINDY CONDITIONS