TENNIS/WOMEN'S SINGLES:JELENA JANKOVIC is not worried about the possibility of losing her number-one ranking after crashing out of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Jankovic was sent packing by Marion Bartoli in the fourth round in Melbourne, the 16th seed thrashing the top seed 6-1, 6-4 to book a quarter-final tie with Vera Zvonareva.
Jankovic’s exit paves the way for the three players ranked immediately below her to take the coveted top spot.
If any of Serena Williams, Dinara Safina or Elena Dementieva win the tournament they will take top spot but with Safina having less ranking points to defend she has a chance to go top even if she only reaches the semi-finals. Williams and Dementieva must reach the final in order to stand a chance of becoming world number one. But Jankovic is unconcerned.
“It doesn’t matter because it’s just the beginning of the year and there are many more tournaments to play,” the Serb said. “Maybe it will change but it’s not important what you do now, there’s the whole year ahead of us – a lot of tournaments, a lot of battles so the best one will finish top. For me the most important thing is how you finish not how you begin.”
Jankovic certainly didn’t start her match in the Rod Laver Arena well, going 5-0 down before she survived two set points to finally get on the board. It was a temporary stay of execution as Bartoli, the 16th seed, closed out the set in just 31 minutes.
The world number one improved in the second set holding her serve in the first game but she was broken again when she doubled faulted in the third.
Bartoli broke her again in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and although Jankovic broke back she could not hold her own serve.
Bartoli then had the chance to serve for the match, which she did.
“Nobody likes to lose, today was a tough day for me,” admitted Jankovic. “I had a slow start and I let my opponent completely get on top of me and play her game.”
Bartoli, who has now beaten Jankovic in their last three encounters for a 4-3 lead in head-to-head meetings, said: “I was really confident because I played really well in my last match against (Lucie) Safarova.
“I knew I could beat Jelena on a good day, it was just a matter of executing it, play the right shot at the right time and not make too many mistakes.
“But I was not overwhelmed by the situation, and I just went for my shots and everything went in today. It was just a great match.”
Jelena Dokic dug deep and overcame a twisted ankle to upset 29th seed Alisa Kleybanova 7-5, 5-7, 8-6 in a shade over three hours.
Dokic has been the story of the tournament so far after battling back from depression to reclaim her place in the hearts of her adopted nation.
Her every point was cheered and she implored to the crowd to get behind when she began to tire against the hard-hitting Russian.
Dokic had the crowd on the edge of their seats when, with the Russian serving at 5-6 and 30-0, she slipped and twisted her left ankle. But she held her serve to take a 7-6 lead before clinching victory with a fearsome backhand down the line.
MEN’S SINGLES
FOURTH ROUND: (7) Andy Roddick (USA) bt (21) Tommy Robredo (Spa) 7-5 6-1 6-3, (3) Novak Djokovic (Ser) bt Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (5-7) 6-2, (8) Juan Martin Del Potro (Arg) bt (19) Marin Cilic (Cro) 5-7 6-4 6-4 6-2, (2) Roger Federer (Swi) bt (20) Tomas Berdych (Cze) 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4 6-2.
THIRD ROUND: (14) Fernando Verdasco (Spa) bt (22) Radek Stepanek (Cze) 6-4 6-0 6-0, (4) Andy Murray (Gbr) bt (31) Jurgen Melzer (Aut) 7-5 6-0 6-3, (6) Gilles Simon (Fra) bt Mario Ancic (Cro) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-2, (9) James Blake (USA) bt (18) Igor Andreev (Rus) 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-1, (5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) bt Dudi Sela (Isr) 6-4 6-2 1-6 6-1, (12) Gael Monfils (Fra) bt (17) Nicolas Almagro (Spa) 6-4 6-3 7-5, (1) Rafael Nadal (Spa) bt Tommy Haas (Ger) 6-4 6-2 6-2, (13) Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt (24) Richard Gasquet (Fra) 3-6 3-6 7-6 (12-10) 6-2 12-10.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
FOURTH ROUND: (16) Marion Bartoli (Fra) bt (1) Jelena Jankovic (Ser) 6-1 6-4, (7) Vera Zvonareva (Rus) bt (10) Nadia Petrova (Rus) 7-5 6-4, (3) Dinara Safina (Rus) bt (15) Alize Cornet (Fra) 6-2 2-6 7-5, Jelena Dokic (Aus) bt (29) Alisa Kleybanova (Rus) 7-5 5-7 8-6.
THIRD ROUND: (13) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) bt (20) Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) 6-4 6-2, (2) Serena Williams (USA) bt Shuai Peng (Chn) 6-1 6-4, (8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt (31) Alona Bondarenko (Ukr) 7-6 (9-7) 6-4, (22) Jie Zheng (Chn) bt Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) 6-2 6-2, (4) Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Samantha Stosur (Aus) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4, (18) Dominika Cibulkova (Svk) bt Virginie Razzano (Fra) 7-5 7-5, (21) Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spa) bt (12) Flavia Pennetta (Ita) 6-4 6-1, Carla Suarez-Navarro (Spa) bt Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spa) 6-1 6-4.
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