Sixth seed Jelena Jankovic has booked a second-round berth after brushing aside Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 18 minutes.
Twenty-three-year-old Suarez Navarro – one of the few WTA Tour players with a single-handed backhand – reached a career-high 22 in 2009, just months after she upset Venus Williams in the second round of the Australian Open.
The Spaniard had not beaten the Serb in any of their three previous meetings but began the match looking like she could break the drought, getting an early break.
But that window quickly shut, as Jankovic outpowered her diminutive opponent to break back, and she never looked back.
Buoyed by the support from flag-donned Serbian fans enjoying the night match on Show Court 2, the 26-year-old defended seven of nine break points in the match, three in the match’s last game.
Serving for the set, Jankovic was down 0-40 but won five straight points to capture the match after the Spaniard sent a forehand long.
“It was the first match of the season; it was nice to get myself going again and transfer the game I’ve been working on on the practice court to a match,” she told brisbaneinternational.com.au.
Despite delivering five double faults and recording a first serve percentage of 56 per cent, the former world number one was pleased with her performance.
“There were some things I could have done better but being the first match, I just went out there to compete, I enjoyed it, I had fun … the important thing is I won the match and I look forward to the next one,” she said with a smile.
“At the important times, I stepped up my game and played the important points very well, I think that’s what made the difference,” Jankovic said, adding that she was pleased with her movement.
The Serb – who lost her first-round doubles match with partner Andrea Petkovic yesterday – said she enjoyed playing doubles to get a feel for the courts and atmosphere.
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“I hope that I can try to play some more doubles [this year] and improve my net game and my serve and return game,” she said, noting that Serbia’s Fed Cup tie against Belgium in early February was front of mind.
“[With] Fed Cup coming up soon, it’s kind of nice to play some doubles here and there and just see how I feel because I’m really a singles player, it’s what I do best, but doubles I try to play as much as I can and just work on my game.”
Jankovic meets in-form qualifier Nina Bratchikova who looked despondent early on before finding a second wind to upset Czech Klara Zakopalova, ranked 113 places above her, 1-6 6-4 7-5 in two hours.
Though Jankovic said she’s never played Bratchikova, further research shows the Serb lost to the Russian at Wimbledon’s Junior Girls’ event a decade ago in three sets.
“I’ll just try to play my tennis and focus on what I can do,” Jankovic said.
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In other women’s first-round matches, Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi struggled against Russian qualifier Alexandra Panova but eventually prevailed 7-5 3-6 6-2 while Panova’s countrywoman and seventh seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova sailed through against Slovenia’s Polona Hercog who retired with a lower back injury, trailing 6-1 4-1.
Kanepi and Pavlyuchenkova will meet in the next round, with Kanepi having won both of their previous matches on hard courts in straight sets.