Jankovic slow to start, fast to finish

Former world No. 1 and eighth seed Jelena Jankovic has advanced to the second round of Australian Open 2010 with a 6-4 6-0 victory over Romanian Monica Niculescu at Hisense Arena on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Serbian struggled to find form early in the match as she was broken by Niculescu in her opening game, and tallied seven unforced errors before she got on the scoreboard at 2-1.

The 2008 US Open finalist was able to break back immediately, but from there neither player could hold their serve in the opening set, which featured seven breaks.

The world No. 101 Niculescu took it right up to Jankovic, challenging the Serb with her powerful groundstokes.

Jankovic, seeking to improve on her Australian Open 2008 semi-final appearance, looked out of sorts, hitting 20 unforced errors in the first set. She was able to convert all four break point opportunities to finally claim the set in 47 minutes.

Jankovic stepped it up in the second set, with the Romanian initially offering some resistance by punching a forehand volley winner in the eighth seed’s opening service game to grab a break-point opportunity.

Jankovic saw off the challenge with a well-timed ace, but Niculescu managed a further break-point opportunity. The two were locked in an intense battle in the opening game, but it was Jankovic who prevailed, winning an entertaining net exchange to take the early advantage.

After escaping the service break, Niculescu lost her way as Jankovic quickly ran away with the match, advancing to the second round without losing a game the rest of the way.

Jankovic will now meet 87th-ranked Brit Katie O’Brien in the second round after O’Brien beat Austrian Patricia Mayr 6-3 6-3 earlier on Tuesday.

Current Match on Hisense Arena Hisense Arena - Women's Singles - 1st Round Jelena Jankovic SRB (8) 6 6 Monica Niculescu ROU 4 0 Match Statistics Serve Statistics