DOHA, Qatar - Venus Williams went the distance in every single one of her round robin matches and continued to play the Marathon Woman in the semis, edging Jelena Jankovic in two hours and 34 minutes, 57 63 64.
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Williams and Jankovic, the No.7 and No.8 seeds at the season-ending event, were just about dead even throughout the match, with Williams dictating play for the most part and Jankovic using her footspeed and guile to draw as many errors as possible. But as Williams put together a -6 differential, Jankovic was not as clean with -17, and after a tight third set in which she had to rally from 0-2, the defending champ won. 
Highlights: V.Williams vs. Jankovic
"The crowd really helped me through it," said Williams, who won her very first season-ending title right here in Doha a year ago. "It was great. In the first set I couldn't feel the ball; coming back from not being able to get a ball in to beat such a consistent player like Jelena is great. It's my last tournament of the year so I'm giving 1000%." Interview: Venus Williams
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Williams beat Jankovic in the semis here last year too, 6-3 in the third. Before that win, she had lost five of her last six matches with the Serb; needless to say, although the pair still remains tight - nine of their 10 career meetings have gone to three sets - Williams seems to have regained control of the rivalry.
In the round robin, Williams had the longest time on court with seven hours and 52 minutes. The next-highest time went to Caroline Wozniacki with six hours and 56 minutes. Williams had two marathon losses, to Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams, and beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets.
Venus Williams will meet either sister Serena or Wozniacki in the final.
