Jelena Jankovic of Serbia overcame a slow start and beat Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-4, 6-4 Friday at the U.S. Open to reach her first Grand Slam final. Jankovic lost eight of the semifinal's first nine points and fell behind 2-0 and 4-2. But as Dementieva became more tentative and more erratic, Jankovic reeled off five consecutive games to claim the first set and a 1-0 edge in the second.

Under increasing criticism, the LPGA Tour on Friday backed off plans to suspend players who cannot speak English well enough to be understood at pro-ams, in interviews or in making acceptance speeches at tournaments. LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens said she would have a revised plan by the end of the year that would not include suspensions, although fining non-English speakers remains an...