Zheng reaches Aegon Classic semis

Zheng Jie of China overcame the rain and an intensive schedule to beat Roberta Vinci 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 and reach the semifinals of the Aegon Classic on Saturday.

Zheng completed the quarterfinal win against the 20th-ranked Italian in the grass-court warmup for Wimbledon after four sessions of play across two rain-drenched days.

Zheng says ''yesterday, after the rain came, I was a little bit nervous.''

The rain returned to delay the second quarterfinal, between former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Misaki Doi of Japan.

Zheng has recovered from two wrist operations and she has endured more than her share of difficulties this week, coming through qualifying and having to deal with three weather delays that broke her rhythm.