Jankovic battles past Bammer to reach quarters

NEW YORK, Sep 3 (Reuters) Third seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia came alive in the third set to eliminate Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-4 4-6 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.

Jankovic was broken in the opening game of the third set before sweeping the last six games yesterdat to set up a last-eight clash against Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.

The 12th-seeded Williams, a two-times US Open winner, crushed Serbian fifth seed Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-2 to advance.

The 27-year-old Bammer blasted 17 winners in the second set and broke Jankovic three times to set up a third set. Overall, the Austrian 19th seed was undone by 49 unforced errors.

Jankovic, 22, holds a 3-2 head-to-head series lead against the 27-year-old Williams, winning their last three encounters including third-round victories at the 2007 French and 2006 Wimbledon championships.

Reuters TB GC0940