Jelena Jankovic is through to the third round of Australian Open 2009 after edging past feisty Belgian Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 7-5 at Hisense Arena on Wednesday.
World No. 110 Flipkens gave a good account of herself, attacking the net when the opportunity arose and putting the tournament’s top seed under considerable pressure.
Jankovic was forced to stave off the first of eight break points she faced in the second game of the match, with Flipkens failing to take the advantage of the openings presented to her.
The Belgian pushed a forehand wide when scores were at 4-4, allowing her opponent to break and close out the set 6-4.
Flipkens’ resolve was not broken, however; she broke early in the second set for a 3-1 advantage and looked to be storming back into the match.
But the world No. 1 reeled off the next three games as Flipkens received treatment for a back complaint.
The Belgian got a lucky break when a ball just dropped in play, levelling scores at 4-4. She couldn’t capitalise on her good fortune, however, managing just one more game for the match and crumbling with a series of unforced errors.
Jankovic next plays Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama, who came from a set down to beat Nathalie Dechy of France 1-6 6-1 6-3 earlier in the day.
Quick facts
A whopping 21 of Flipkens’ 38 unforced errors came in the second set
Jankovic had a first serve percentage of 81 per cent
Jankovic hit 21 winners to Flipkens’ 30
Flipkens won 32 of 46 points at the net
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