GUANGZHOU: Serbia’s former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic ignored the distraction of an arm injury before beating Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer on Friday and booking a place in the final of the Guangzhou International.

Jankovic saved a match point late in the third set before winning 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 giving her the chance to win her second title in China this year after winning a lower tier event in Nanchang in August.

The 30-year-old Jankovic said her arm was hurting after a busy week playing both singles and doubles.

“I think I played quite a lot of tennis,” she said.

“It was a little bit better toward the end and I felt better afterward. In the first set, I was almost getting ready to cry!“

Her opponent in Saturday’s final will be Denisa Allertova, the giant-killer from the Czech Republic.

Allertova stunned world No. 2 Simona Halep in Thursday’s quarterfinals and followed up by beating Italian Sara Errani, seeded third in China, 7-5 6-2.

“I’m just trying to focus on my tennis and play every point like it’s my last. It worked, and I’m so happy that I won today!” Allertova said.

Allertova will be playing in her first WTA final after winning nine times on the lower ITF circuit.

“I didn’t expect this because it’s my first time here, and there are a lot of great players here, so I’m happy to play the final tomorrow,” she said.

Wozniacki in last four

In Tokyo, top-seed Caroline Wozniacki survived a nail-biting scare Friday against Angelique Kerber of Germany at the Pan Pacific Open, advancing to a semifinal showdown against Belinda Bencic.

However, the tournament’s defending champion and second-seed Ana Ivanovic will not be moving forward after losing 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to Dominika Cibulkova, who is now set to face Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals.

Wozniacki, the former world No.1, clinched a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Kerber, who has won six of their previous 10 encounters.

The Dane comfortably overpowered her fifth-seed rival in the first set.

But the second set went to the German left-hander, who consistently delivered sharp shots deep into corners, forcing Wozniacki to run along the baseline.

But Wozniacki, who won the Pan Pacific Open in 2010, remained calm and picked up the pace toward the end of the second set, before firing off blistering shots to win key games in the third.

The victory sets up a semifinal match against eighth-seed Bencic, who beat Spain’s third-seed Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7/1), 6-1.

The 18-year-old Swiss has stacked up impressive wins this year by beating the likes of Serena Williams and Simona Halep.

She has won all of her three encounters against Wozniacki in 2015, including a victory in August in Toronto.

Meanwhile, world No.12 Ivanovic’s campaign to defend the Tokyo title was shattered by Cibulkova, who also beat the Serb at the US Open.

Ivanovic said she felt confident going into the match, but Cibulkova appeared prepared to fight back, preventing her opponent from taking control.

Cibulkova exuded confidence and maintained pressure with her forehand, while Ivanovic failed to find her rhythm.

She will now face Radwanska of Poland, the 2011 Pan Pacific winner, who beat Czech fourth-seed Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-2 in their quarterfinal.

Unheralded Sasnovich shocks Stephens

In Seoul, unheralded Aliaksandra Sasnovich stunned American third seed Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2 to reach the WTA Korea Open semifinals on Friday.

The Belarusian world No.136 provided a chastening reality check to Stephens, who is ranked 104 places higher and won her first WTA title in Washington last month.

Sasnovich, 21, will now face Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semifinals after the Slovakian second seed beat Germany’s Mona Barthel 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

In the other half Romanian top seed Irina Begu, ranked 29th in the world, defeated Swedish veteran Johanna Larsson 6-4, 7-5.

Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck, seeded eighth, needed three sets to beat Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 and set up a semi with Begu.