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Serena Williams wins another Family Circle Cup title

Serena Williams tracks down a forehand return against Jelena Jankovic in the championship match of the Family Circle Cup.
(Mic Smith / Associated Press)
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<i>This post has been updated. See the note below for details.</i>

This should all sound familiar: Serena Williams rallied from a one-set deficit to win another tennis tournament, this time for another Family Circle Cup title in Charleston, S.C.

The top-ranked Williams, who dominated and dispatched sister Venus in the semifinals Saturday by dropping only three games, bounced back Sunday to defeat Jelena Jankovic, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, and repeat as champion.

Last weekend at the Sony Ericsson Open, Williams defeated second-ranked Maria Sharapova in the championship match after dropping the first set.

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Jankovic, who was ranked as high as No. 1 in 2008 but has fallen recently to No. 18, aided Williams’ comeback by admittedly losing her focus at the start of the second set when the players exchanged some words. Williams was unhappy with Jankovic serving before she was ready to receive.

“I gave her wins. I let her back in the match,” Jankovic said. “That was my mistake.”

[Updated, 2:24 p.m. PDT April 7: Williams, who also won the tournament in 2008, captured her 49th title on the WTA circuit. She said afterward that she had to raise the level of her play once Jankovic won the first set.

“I was just trying to be more consistent,” Williams said. “I felt so close in that first set. I felt like I could have been up 3-0. She was playing really, really well, but it was just a shot here, a shot there, and she played really well in the big points. And I had so many opportunities that I missed. She took advantage of all of that, and she went on to glory in that first set.

“After that, I just got really relaxed and was like, ‘Serena, you have to chill out and not get crazy, and if you win, great. If not, you’re trying. She’s playing really well. Just try and do the best you can.’”]

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News service and Internet reports contributed to this report.

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