updated 12:45 a.m. ET Jan. 23, 2008

MELBOURNE, Australia - With the Williams sisters and No. 1 Justine Henin gone, the Australian Open women’s semifinals are an all eastern European affair.

And two not-so-similar Serbians are in the hunt for their first Grand Slam singles title.

No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Ana Ivanovic both advanced to last year’s French Open semifinals, signaling the start of a Serbian move into the top five of women’s tennis.

At this year’s Australian Open, the two could meet in the final, if Jankovic can get past Maria Sharapova in one of Thursday’s semifinals and Ivanovic, who beat Venus Williams 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the quarterfinals Wednesday, beats Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the other.

The two Serbians share only their nationality: Jankovic is outspoken, Ivanovic has a quiet manner about her and is more private, describing herself as “sensitive” in her WTA Tour biography.

Ivanovic is taking a finance course by correspondence, reads Greek mythology, listens to pop and rhythm and blues music and has studied Spanish. Jankovic likes techno music, considers herself competitive and learned French at a diplomatic school in Serbia.

On the court, they become more similar: both are right-handed with two-handed backhands that produce powerful ground strokes.

Ivanovic says tennis is growing in Serbia, which has a population of just over 10 million.

“We get a lot of support from back home,” she said. “Every time I speak to my father, he always says how many people are following us. I think it’s great for our tennis and it’s becoming one of the major sports back home.

“It’s just amazing to have two ... of us playing semifinals at a Grand Slam, a dream coming true.”

Jankovic has lost three of four matches against Sharapova, and the two were junior teammates together at a Florida tennis academy. Sharapova lost last year’s final here to Serena Williams but looked ever-so powerful in ending Henin’s 32-match winning streak in the quarterfinals this year.

The last time Jankovic and Sharapova played — at the Birmingham grass court tournament last year — Jankovic beat the Russian in three sets, including 7-5 in the decider. Sharapova has beaten Jankovic twice on hard courts, including the U.S. Open’s second round in 2004.

Sharapova says that makes little difference to her.

“Previous matches don’t count, this is a new encounter, a new match,” Sharapova said. “Ever since the juniors we’ve always played really tough and we’ve always battled it out, and it’s great to see her in the semis.”

Jankovic beat defending champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, one of the biggest wins of her career.

The 22-year-old Jankovic has been nursing a variety of injuries since straining her right hamstring at the Hopman Cup in Perth. As well, she says she’s sore all over.

“They put me in an ice tub, and I freeze, actually, to kind of help my muscles recover,” Jankovic said. “But I’m doing fine. I just wanted my body to get stronger so that I can play without pain. But it just shows that I’m not really in the best shape.”

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Hantuchova, who beat Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-2 Wednesday, is playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal. She made the quarterfinals of three straight Grand Slams — Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2002 and the Australian Open in 2003, but it’s been a dry spell since.

“I guess I had to get through all the tough times and get experience in order to be able to get to this stage,” said No. 9-seeded Hantuchova, who is the oldest of the semifinalists at 24. “That’s why I can appreciate moments like this much, much more.”

Ivanovic leads their career head-to-heads 2-1, all in 2007. Ivanovic beat her at the WTA Tour Championships in November, including an 11-9 score in the second-set tiebreaker.

Hantuchova was asked before she knew her semifinal opponent — Ivanovic or Venus Williams — what kind of match she expected.

“You’ll face a stiff test either way in the semifinals,” Hantuchova said. “But I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m in a great position.”

Ivanovic agreed.

“She’s had a great run ... a lot of good wins,” Ivanovic said. “She obviously has a lot of confidence coming into the semifinal.”

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