Jelena Jankovic outplays Melanie South in the second round – AEGON Classic 2012
Fifth seeded wildcard entrant, Jelena Jankovic, had a thumping beginning to her AEGON Classic campaign, beating the other local wildcard opponent, Melanie South, in the second round on Wednesday. The former world number one took
just one hour and 32 minutes to wrap up the proceedings in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(3), to cruise into the third round of the tournament convincingly.
It was the first encounter between these two competitors and it proved out to be a fairly exciting battle. Jankovic blasted her way through the opening set of the match, sparing barely one game for the British opponent and sealing
it with a breadstick. South came up with some serious resistance in the following set and dragged the contest into a tie-breaker round before the fifth seed turned the tables on her.
Currently holding the 22nd spot in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Jankovic is labouring extremely hard to get back her vintage form. Her efforts this year have earned her a 19-15 winning record,
without any championship title under her belt. The Serbian tennis ace won the AEGON Classic five years ago and has stepped on the grass courts of Edgbaston with a wildcard entry to repeat the similar feat.
"Even though I was down in the second set, everything can turn around so fast when you're playing on grass," Jankovic said after her comprehensive victory against South. "A few good returns here and there and I was back in the
match. I did exactly that. And I think I played those crucial points very well at the end. I'm happy I could make it through today. It was my first match on grass this year. You never know how it's going to go - so overall I'm pleased to get through this match
today."
27-year-old Serbian banged in 61 per cent of her first serve on target and clinched 30 out of 40 points on it to come out as the winner. She crafted a total of nine break opportunities in the contest but four conversions proved
sufficient for her to drive South out of the competition. The British wildcard coughed seven double faults in the matchup and her two out of seven break point conversions didn’t help her to register an upset victory over Jankovic.
The fifth seed Serbian will next face the unseeded Aussie contender, Casey Dellacqua, in the third round of the AEGON Classic later this week.
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