Back injury forces Jankovic to retire
Jelena Jankovic of Serbia retired midway through her match with Vera Zvonareva on Monday due to back injury, letting the Russian slip into the ladies' singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
Zvonareva was leading the match 6-1, 3-0 before the fourth seeded Jankovic decided to stop the match. Zvonareva ended up winning 6-1, 3-0, 30-15 retired.
The 21st seed Zvonareva will now face Belgian Kim Clijsters, who just beat out fellow compatriot Justine Henin.
Jelena Jankovic must be enduring frustration at having to stop at the fourth round of the Wimbledon tournament this year. Considering that Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam where Jankovic has never advanced into the semis, having to withdraw from the match due to injury must have been all the more exasperating.
Today marks the fourth time that Jankovic reached the fourth round at the All England Club, only to be ousted from further grass court play.
The 25-year-old Serbian began the match with her right thigh strapped, playing with restricted movement. It was a back injury that caused her to withdraw. Granted, Zvonareva was playing impressively, stretching Jankovic to her limit.
The two women have faced off quite a few times previously, with Jankovic leading 6-5 prior to today. Each woman has claimed a grass court victory before, yet the two have never played on grass against each other.
Jankovic trailing from the outset
Prior to any injury-related complaints in the opening game, Jankovic complained about the crowd noise around Court 12, approaching umpire Emmanuel Joseph. Since the noise came predominantly from the walkways surrounding the court rather than the crowd itself, Joseph couldn't do much to help the situation.
Watching Jankovic between points, it was becoming obvious that she was unable to perform at 100 per cent, sending a wide forehand during Zvonareva's break point, to end up at 0-2. On her next serve, the Serbian netted a lousy backhand to come up with a double fault that left her at 0-4.
Improving her returns slightly gave Jankovic a chance to earn one of her breaks back, as she outwitted Zvonareva from the baseline. Yet again she came one break point down, double-faulting at a key moment.
Zvonareva was hanging on to every single point. The Russian scurried around the baseline to capture the first set at 6-1 with a commanding performance.
Could Zvonareva get through without Jankovic's injury?
Notwithstanding Jankovic's off day, it was clear that the 21st seeded Zvonareva is a player more talented than her current ranking would reveal. In fact, she was ranked at No. 5 in February of last year, with her ranking dropping from an ankle injury that required surgery. Zvonareva will undoubtedly threaten the top 10 once again if she continues to maintain her form.
Jankovic got the second set off to a semi-encouraging start, but continued to double-fault at the worst moments, making a terrible mistake during her third error on break point.
Midway in the next game, Jankovic approached the umpire again and asked for the trainer, citing a back problem. The umpire informed her that it would be necessary to wait until the changeover. "But I can't walk," uttered Jankovic. Nevertheless, she was instructed to wait, most probably in pain.
After losing the game, Jankovic came back to the chair, burying her face in her hands. The trainer finally arrived, and administered treatment during a three-minute medical time-out, manipulating her lower back. The intervention did not seem to have an alleviative effect, with Jankovic deciding to retire midway through the following game.
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