Jelena Jankovic falls to Iveta Benesova at Rogers Cup
Jelena Jankovic is third overall in the world rankings, but her play against Czech qualifier Iveta Benesova made her seem undeserving of the high ranking.
Jankovic failed to win her first match at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, losing by a score of 7-6 (3), 6-3. She is coming off of an ankle injury that sidelined her for two weeks. Before that, she had only played four matches in three tournaments.
"I didn't really feel like a top-5 player out there," said Jankovic, who has never won the Rogers Cup before. "My game hasn't been at the top level for the last couple of tournaments."
The 2008 U.S. Open was the Serbian native’s most recent trip to the finals, but she eventually fell to Serena Williams. Jankovic remains confident that she can recover from Tuesday’s upset before the last Grand Slam of the year starts on August 30.
"I really wanted to play matches here, and at the last tournament, but I didn't do that and now I haven't played many matches before the U.S. Open," Jankovic said. "So I'll just try my best over there, and hopefully I'll be better."
Despite the disappointing finish, Jankovic began the match strong. Her first two services were won at love, and she was up 5-3 over Benesova in the first. Benesova then mounted a comeback which forced a tiebreaker. In the rubber match, Benesova won the last three points, giving her a 7-3 victory.
Jankovic’s sluggish performance allowed Benesova to sweep in and pick up the victory. Benesova is currently ranked 75th in the world, and the win was the biggest of her 12-year professional career. Her previous best was a second-round win over Mary Pierce at the 2006 Australian Open. Pierce was ranked No. 5 overall in that tournament.
"I think it was good for me because I haven't had a very good season this year," said Benesova, who improved her 2010 singles record to 17-18. "It was good for my confidence. This is definitely the biggest victory of my career, I'm just very excited," said Benesova, 27. "It was a great match for me."
It was also Benesova’s sixth win in the past five days. Over the weekend, she won three qualifying matches. On Monday, she won her first-round singles and doubles matches.
Benesova’s next opponent will be the winner of the second-round match between Frances Marion Bartoli and Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan. After that, Benesova will play a second-round doubles match with partner Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.
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