Safina denies Jankovic her shot at No. 1

After her victory Friday, Dinara Safina’s coach told her that she’d played the best match of her career. She didn’t give him much to complain about Saturday either.

Safina, seeded fourth, defeated top-seeded Jelena Jankovic, 7-6 (3), 6-1, in the semifinals of the East West Bank Classic at the Home Depot Center in Carson and will play Flavia Pennetta in the final today. Pennetta defeated Bethanie Mattek, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

“Today was another great match and I’m really happy with how I played,” said Safina, a Russian ranked No. 9 in the world.

Jankovic and Safina, who had never played each other on a hard court, played a close first set, trading games until they reached a tiebreak. Though Jankovic held an early lead, Safina took the tiebreaker and the set.

“[Winning] the first set was the key because then I get much more aggressive,” Safina said.

Jankovic, who is known for playing a busy schedule, came into the tournament with little preparation. She took the last two weeks off because of a knee injury and had only four days to train for the event.

In the second set, as Safina maintained the same level, Jankovic weakened.

“I couldn’t go anymore,” Jankovic said. “My legs were a little bit shaking. I am not in the best shape yet.”

Safina seized the opportunity, breezing through the second set in 29 minutes.

For Jankovic, the loss held extra significance because had she won the tournament, she would have taken over the No. 1 spot in the Sony Ericsson WTA tour rankings from fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic.

“Hopefully my time will come,” Jankovic said. “It’s not the end of the world. Just to play in this tournament is very exciting.”

While the other semifinal did not have significant world ranking implications, Pennetta and Mattek were both playing to reach a career milestone -- their first final of a Tier II event.

Pennetta, who played two three-set matches earlier in the tournament, had to go to great lengths again, prevailing in a 2-hour 40-minute match in which she was treated for blisters on left her foot after the first set. Courtside temperatures were in the 90s.

“I think it was not a great match for sure,” said Pennetta, an Italian seeded 10th. “I did not play my best tennis for sure. In these kind of matches it’s very important to keep going and win. I think in the end, I was more consistent.”

The match was close with Pennetta winning only four more points but the Italian exploited Mattek’s second serve, winning 22 of the 30 points on the serve.

“She ended up coming up big at the end of the third set,” said Mattek, from Rochester, Minn. “She ended up serving better in the third set. My serve let me down.”

Mattek, who had been playing singles and doubles all week, retired in her doubles match later in the day because of a back injury.

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Today’s finals

Today at the East West Bank Classic at Home Depot Center (seedings in parentheses):

Doubles: Eva Hrdinova/Vladimira Uhlirova vs. Chan Yung-jan/Chuang Chia-jung (1), 11:45 a.m.

Singles: Dinara Safina (4) vs. Flavia Pennetta (10), not before 2 p.m.