TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Bartoli Stuns No. 1 Jankovic

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOHN PYE

The Associated Press

Published: January 25, 2009

MELBOURNE, Australia - Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic was knocked out in the fourth round of the Australian Open and will have to search elsewhere for her first Grand Slam title.

Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up, broke Jankovic's serve twice in the first set en route to a 6-1, 6-4 win today and a place in the quarterfinals.

"I tried to not think about it for the whole match," Bartoli said of Jankovic's No. 1 ranking. "This is my first time playing in Rod Laver Arena. I think I just played amazingly today and I'm so glad to put on a good performance."

The 16th-seeded Bartoli had not been past the second round in seven previous trips to Melbourne Park.

Bartoli was the aggressor, repeatedly sending Jankovic serves back faster than they came over and standing two steps inside the baseline for second serves.

Jankovic fended off two set points while serving at 1-5, but Bartoli easily held in the next game.

Increasingly tentative and bewildered, Jankovic twice lost points early in the second set by stopping play on Bartoli shots she thought were long but replays showed caught the line.

Bartoli broke to pull ahead 5-4 in a game that went to deuce six times, with Jankovic netting a backhand on breakpoint.

Jankovic wanted to challenge Bartoli's winner in the next game but couldn't. The Frenchwoman went on to hold despite a twitchy double fault at 40-15, whacking a forehand winner down the line and raising her arms in jubilation.

Saturday night, men's No. 1 Rafael Nadal ripped 53 winners in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Tommy Haas.

Nadal kept his unforced errors to a frugal eight - and to only one in the 43-minute second set.

"I played one of my best matches here at the Australian Open," said Nadal, who has improved by one round in each of his five trips to Australia. To continue that sequence, he'll have to make the final.

Andy Murray won 11 straight games during a 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 win against Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

Right now, fourth-seeded Murray isn't Nadal's major concern.

He has 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez next. The 28-year-old Chilean rallied from two sets down and saved match point in a 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (10), 6-2, 12-10 win over Richard Gasquet of France.

Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the losing finalist last year, joined fellow Frenchmen Gael Monfils and No. 6 Gilles Simon in the fourth round. He next faces No. 9 James Blake of Tampa, the second American to reach the final 16 after Andy Roddick.

On the other side of the women's draw, Serena Williams had 6-1, 6-4 win against China's Peng Shuai.

Williams next faces No. 13 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who ousted 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT