After some drama-filled moments on court over the years, Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams exchanged pleasantries after the Serb's quarterfinal win at Indian Wells. Jankovic defeated Lesia Tsurenko, who retired while trailing 6-1, 4-1. The former No. 1 reached the U.S. Open final in 2008, where she lost to Williams.
"The other day when I finished the match, Serena goes, 'You go! We go 30-year-olds.' She gave me a high five. I'm like, 'Yeah, Serena,'" Jankovic said. "I been playing the girls who are like ten, twelve years younger. It's unbelievable. But I think age is just a number. I feel young. I don't feel 30. I'm still a child in the heart, so that will never go away. I feel good. I'm happy."
The world No. 21 said she is not ready to retire from the tour . Since she won Indian Wells in 2010, Jankovic has won only one tournament, in Bogota in 2013. Even when she was struggling, she wasn’t ready to give up.
"I think we will have our times when we are like, 'Oh, I don't want to do this anymore,'" she said. "That's the easiest thing to do when things get tough is kind of give up. Those are the times when you've got to sit back and find a way to get back. I think that's what the strong people have the ability to do.
"Our tennis careers are quite short, and you don't want to have regrets that you did not try your best, you did not really push yourself to the limits. You want to try, give everything you have, and then once you quit the sport, then you say, I've done everything I could and it's my time to go and leave it to the youngsters."
Jankovic faces Sabine Lisicki in the semifinals, who beat defending champion Flavia Pennetta, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4).