21 January,2009 10:31 AM IST | | AFP
World number one Jelena Jankovic battled through to the Australian Open third round Wednesday with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-5 win over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens. The Serb, who is on a quest for a maiden Grand Slam to go with her top ranking, received a testing workout from a player rated 110 in the world and determined to make the most of her moment on the big stage.
"It's good to have someone push you so you know what you have to work on when you step back on the practice court," Jankovic said.
There was an early hiccup when Jankovic almost went down a break in the second game but the Serb got herself out of trouble with an ace, an encouraging sign for a player previously criticised for her popgun serve. Cheered on by a noisy Serb contingent in the crowd, Jankovic broke Flipkins in the fifth game.
The Belgian, who won the junior tournaments at both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2003, immediately broke back, moving around the court with an agilty that belied her world 110 ranking. Jankovic then called a medical time out so a trainer could examine her right foot but some binding appeared to fix the problem and she went on to take the first set in 44 minutes.
The pair again exchanged breaks in the second set before it was Flipkins' turn to call a time out because of a sore back. She showed no ill effects as she returned to break Jankovic's serve but the top seed lifted to take the game after 105 minutes.
