Jelena Jankovic stopped the French Open run of Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova by beating her 6-3 7-5 to reach the semi-finals on Tuesday. Serbia's Jankovic, seeded fourth, showed signs of nerves at times but relied on her ferocious backhand and tremendous court speed.
The 18-year-old Vaidisova, who burst into the limelight by reaching the semi-finals here last year and was seeded sixth, had her chances and survived four match points before bowing out by netting a forehand.
Jankovic, 22, who established herself as a top contender by winning three titles this year to break into the top five, will meet world number one and defending champion Justine Henin for a place in the final.
"I was moving really well today and I tried to defend her balls", Jankovic said after reaching her second semi-final at a grand slam after the 2006 US Open. Jankovic looked in control until she served for the match, leading 5-4, but she wasted a match point with an unforced error and was broken.