Jankovic gets back to basics

TENNIS WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS:IF NADIA Petrova was the rabbit in the headlights of Justin Henin, having now lost all but two of their 16 matches, then similarly Alona Bondarenko was a startled bunny in the glare of fourth seed Jelena Jankovic.

Jankovic won all but one of their previous 11 meetings before they met yesterday. While the 25-year-old Ukrainian might have had some hopes because her one win against the Serb was earlier this year at the Australian Open, they were readily crushed in just 14 minutes play.

Sent out to Court Two and away from the shadows of Centre and Number One court, Bondarenko went down 6-0, the set finally collapsing Jankovic’s way with a double fault. Given the players rested twice in the third and fifth games, each one of the first set averaged just two minutes.

It was a nervous head start to give Jankovic, who has only ever reached the quarter-finals here, as the second set proceeded a lot more competitively. After 14 minutes they had played only three games and Jankovic had called for the trainer, who worked on her right leg for almost 10 minutes.

That gave Bondarenko some heart and the thrust of Jankovic’s concentration visibly diminished, although not fatally. At 3-4 with Bondarenko serving Jankovic earned a second break point, a long return landing well beyond the baseline and allowing the higher seed to serve for the match. It fell 6-0, 6-3 in 57 minutes.

Jankovic had experimented with trying to get her body stronger to face the naturally bigger players, particularly the Williams sisters. But in doing so her game curdled although she is now back to her old regime and playing well enough to be ranked third in the world.

“You are always trying to become a better tennis player,” she said after declaring her leg will be fine. “If you are trying to improve you are going to be left behind. I don’t really regret anything. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t.”

So Petrova probably thought when she faced Henin on Centre Court and well, they didn’t work out at all. The Belgian took 27 minutes to snatch the first set 6-1, was less dominant in the second but took it 6-4 to win in just over an hour.

With Kim Clijsters also winning her third-round match with Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3, a meeting of two heavyweight Belgians is scheduled for the fourth round, the comeback kids playing each other for a quarter-final place on Monday.

“It’s a great opportunity for both of us,” said Henin. “It’s something we couldn’t have expected a year ago. We grew up at the same time. We arrived at the top at the same time. We almost retired at the same time. We almost came back at the same time. In terms of the game of course we play a different kind of tennis.”

A serving, slicing, volleying Henin against the brawny baseline hitter Clijsters. Quite a match up.

Venus Williams was the last big name through after being asked some difficult questions by the 20-year-old Russian Alisa Kleybanova, ranked 27 in the world. The Williams serve came under threat, especially in the second set where after breaking the Kleybanova serve, she handed the break back.

As she usually does, Williams went to her locker and pulled out bigger artillery, whether it was at serve or an enormous forehand. Kleybanova, a physical player too, was not intimidated and was hitting and shrieking as loudly as Williams. When the thunder subsided, however, the second seed had won the match 6-4, 6-2.

With sister Serena and Maria Sharapova scheduled today, it leaves just three players in the draw who have previously won the championship.