Jelena Jankovic exits by Carla Suarez Navarro in opening round – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Former world number one, Jelena Jankovic, was edged out by the local wild card entrant, Carla Suarez Navarro, in gruelling three sets at the Mutua Madrid Open 2012 on Monday. She suffered a 6-4, 6-7(5), 4-6 loss against the 23-year-old in the opening round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event taking place in Madrid, Spain.
Seeded 15th in the tournament, Jankovic, squandered her chance of bagging the match in the second set tie-breaker. As a result, Suarez Navarro conquered the Serb for the first time in their fifth meeting and booked a spot in the second round.
Jankovic made a sluggish start at the Park Manzanares but stayed focused, eventually pulling out the opener with a 6-4 score line. She suffered the first blow in the third game but quickly took a 5-3 lead with two breaks of serve. Apart from losing her edge again in the ninth game, the Serb broke her rival’s serve once more and bagged the opener with a 6-4 win.
The 23-year-old on the other end rebounded in the second set and earned the coveted break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. She lost her edge in the proceeding game but jumped to a 5-3 lead with another break of serve. In spite of levelling at 5-5 and exchanging another serve break, Suarez Navarro edged past the seed in the tie-breaker. She leaped to a 5-3 lead in the tie-breaker before pulling out the equaliser with a 7-6(5) score line.
Ranked 18th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Jankovic fought back well in the final set but eventually endured a 4-6 loss. She lost her opening serve but quickly counterattacked in the very next game. Regardless of exchanging a sere break after that, the Serb lost her serve for the third time in the last game, which cost the match.
The 27-year-old is coming off from a flawless performance against the Russian team at the Fed Cup. She pulled out from the Porsche Open in her opening round match against Caroline Wozniacki due to an injury but failed to re-gain her strength at this event.
The local starlet on the other side showed her best tennis at this blue clay court event as she made an epic comeback to shock Jankovic.
"I played well in Estoril last week and at Barcelona a few weeks ago too, so I was feeling good here as well," Suarez Navarro stated in post match interview. "I knew it would be a very difficult match. I played a very complete game and kept going until the end, and I'm very happy right now. I really want to enjoy this victory.... I wasn't thinking about being mentally and physically tired coming from Estoril. I had nothing to lose, and I did very well."
Suarez Navarro will next face the Czech star, Lucie Safarova, who tumbled over Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi in straight sets to set-up this match.
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