CARLSBAD, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Melanie Oudin, America's tennis sweetheart, will play in the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, tournament officials announced today. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event is scheduled for July 31 - Aug.

Maria Sharapova needed a third set Friday but advanced to the finals of the $2 million Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo where she meets Jelena Jankovic for the title. Sharapova used a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 semifinal victory over 11th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska to reach her second finals since returning to completion following a nine-month layoff due to shoulder surgery. The comeback has been marked by inconsistent serving and, while Sharapova served better in the early rounds in Tokyo, that was again a problem Friday.

Jelena Jankovic ended a four-match losing streak to Marion Bartoli with a win that put her into the semifinals of the $2 million Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Jankovic, seeded seventh, hadn't beaten Bartoli since the 2007 French Open and had fallen to 3-5 lifetime against the French player.

Maria Sharapova rallied for a third-round win Wednesday at the $2 million Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo. Sharapova, unseeded at the hard-court tournament as she continues her comeback from shoulder surgery, defeated Alisa Kleybanova 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

No. 3-seeded Elena Dementieva was defeated Tuesday at Tokyo's $2 million Pan Pacific Open, which has lost its top six seeds in second-round play. Top seeds Dinara Safina and Venus Williams were among upset victims in Monday's play while Dementieva, No.