Jelena Jankovic has continued her winning form with a straight-sets 6-3 6-2 win, this time over Russian Nina Bratchikova in the second round of the Brisbane International.
Early on both players were unable to hold serve in their opening games. But while her serve wasn’t working as well as she would have liked, Bratchikova was moving around the court smoothly despite the strapping covering her left knee.
An ace helped Jankovic to the first hold of the match and a 2-1 first-set lead. Bratchikova was visibly unhappy when she was unable to hold her serve once again, dropping her racquet on the ground and walking away in disgust.
Jankovic took full advantage of Bratchikova’s misfortune closing out the opening set 6-3. The Serbian carried her good form into the second set racing to a 4-0 lead and leaving behind a frustrated Bratchikova.
The Russian was caught flat-footed several times in the second set, with Jankovic driving deep forehands and backhands into both corners of the court, often catching out Bratchikova as she raced from sideline to sideline.
Bratchikova continued to fight, but Jankovic was too experienced and not about to let a golden opportunity to secure a quarterfinal berth slip.
After the match, Jankovic said she was happy with the result against a “tough opponent”, who she described as “hitting [the] ball really well and really flat”.
“I am always trying to put my game out there … play my shots and I think that’s what I did today.”
With the win against Bratchikova, Jankovic will come up against Italian Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals. Schiavone was one of the few top 10 players Jankovic notched a win against in 2011 and the Serbian said she’s looking forward to the return bout.
“She’s a good player but I want to play my own game and enjoy it.”
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