Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic forged ahead on the women’s side in the 2009 Australian Open – although the Serbs polished off with different attitudes.
Last year, Ivanovic lost to Maria Sharapova – who is out now with a shoulder injury. After which, she was able to revive by winning her first Grand Slam title at the French Open earning the No. 1 ranking. Ivanovic was exultant after she played better, a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Italy’s Alberta Brianti than she did during the first round.
On the other hand, top-ranked Jankovic, who is after her first Grand Slam while simultaneously recovering from illness, backslides while booting out Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 7-5.
Jankovic stated that treatment was required for her right foot in the first set. “I wasn’t really happy with my game, what I was doing on the court,” she said, “I have to clean up my game a little bit and try to do the right things for my next match.” Meanwhile, Ivanovic is hauling inspiration from her last run not fearing failure even amidst the expectations to echo or boost her performance.
Ivanovic was quoted saying, “I was in this situation before French Open last year, coming into the tournament as pretty serious finalist,” she said. “That experience will help me a lot to approach this Australian Open.”
The fifth-seeded Ivanovic repetitively took advantage against Brianti’s flimsy serve. The 169th-ranked Italian player was able to serve only thrice.
Brianti was reported to need treatment for her lower back and carried off a medical time out after getting broken and falling behind 3-0 in the second set.
The 23-year-old Italian was able to break Ivanovic’s serve and pulled back to 3-2. However, she lost the next three games.