AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Venue: Melbourne Park Date: 19 January-1 February
Coverage: BBC Red Button, BBC One & Two (including all Andy Murray matches), Radio 5 Live sports extra, BBC Sport website (Red Button coverage streamed on website throughout fortnight)
 Jankovic will play Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in round two |
World number one Jelena Jankovic got her Australian Open campaign off to a fine start as she beat Yvonne Meusburger 6-1 6-3 to reach round two. The top seed from Serbia broke her Austrian opponent six times en route to victory in one hour 10 minutes. Jankovic's compatriot Ana Ivanovic, seeded five, overcame a wayward performance to progress with a 7-5 6-3 win over German debutant Julia Goerges. Third seed Dinara Safina beat Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3 6-4. Fellow Russian and 10th seed Nadia Petrova saw off Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3 7-6 (7-3). Jankovic, still awaiting her first Grand Slam title, fired 27 winners against Meusburger and her victory never looked in doubt despite the scorching temperatures at Melbourne Park.  | It's been a while, but it's great to be back |
"I feel fit and ready to play," she said. "The conditions are quite tough out there. It's very warm. One problem that I had was my feet were burning. "The soles of my shoes got so hot. In the changeovers I was putting my feet on ice, trying to cool them down. "It's exciting to begin this tournament and to start with a win is always nice. Next up for Jankovic is Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens, who beat Rossana De Los Rios 6-3 6-2. Ivanovic struggled to find consistency on serve against the promising Goerges and she was broken once in each set before eventually finding some momentum. The 2008 beaten finalist was more fluent in the second set and sealed her win with two aces. "I took some time to adjust to the rhythm and everything, to slowly get into match," said Ivanovic, who now faces Alberta Brianti after the Italian beat Yanina Wickmayer. | 606: DEBATE |
"I've never played against her before, never seen her play. She was hitting the ball very well. "I don't expect myself to step on the court and play perfect tennis from very first moment. You just want to give yourself the best possible chance and give time to work yourself into the tournament." Seventh seed Vera Zvonareva is also into the second round after seeing off Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6 (7-2) 6-0. France's Alize Cornet, seeded 15th, defeated Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine 6-3 6-4, while Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva upset 23rd seed Agnes Szavay of Hungary. Nineteenth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated Casey Dellacqua of Australia 7-6 (11-9) 6-4. Jelena Dokic, who had not reached the second round of a Grand Slam event since 2003, did just that with a 6-2 3-6 6-4 win against Tamira Paszek. The 25-year-old, now back playing under the Australian flag, is hoping to launch a comeback after seeing her ranking slide to 187. "I was so nervous today - it was a big match for me," she said. "I wasn't the favourite but I knew I had a chance. The crowd helped me - it's been a while, but it's great to be back."
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