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 briefly trailed in the second set but fought back in Melbourne |
Top seed Jelena Jankovic battled past Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens to reach the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Serbian won 6-4 7-5 to set up a tie with Japan's Ai Sugiyama. Third seed Dinara Safina dropped a tough first set but beat fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-0. Serbian fifth seed Ana Ivanovic beat Italy's Alberta Brianti 6-3 6-2, and Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova beat India's Sania Mirza by the same score. Australian Jelena Dokic progressed to the third round by beating Russian number 17 seed Anna Chekvatadze 6-4 6-7 6-3 in the Rod Laver Arena. Her next opponent is Danish 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Spain's Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3 6-3. Jankovic and Flipkens both called medical timeouts during their match as the Belgian occasionally threatened but failed to press home her opportunities.  | When I lost the first set I raised my level and that's why I won quite easily after that |
Jankovic almost went down a break in the second game but the Serb got herself out of trouble with an ace, and then required binding to her right foot later in the set. The pair exchanged breaks in the second set before it was Flipkens' turn to call a timeout because of a sore back. She showed no ill effects as she returned to break Jankovic's serve but the top seed regained her composure to take the game after 105 minutes. "It's good to have someone push you so you know what you have to work on when you step back on the practice court," said Jankovic. Safina, 22, trailed the 20-year-old Makarova 5-2 at one point in the first set, eventually conceding it on a tie-break, but went on to win with ease. "She played a very good match. She gave me a hard time," said Safina. "But when I lost the first set I raised my level and that's why I won quite easily after that." Ivanovic conquered early trouble with her serve to come through against Brianti, who received treatment for back pain during the match. | 606: DEBATE |
The 21-year-old, beaten finalist at Melbourne last year, will now face either Russian Alisa Kleybanova or Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France. Brianti received treatment from a trainer for a lower back injury when trailing 3-0 in the second set and took a medical time out. She returned to break Ivanovic's service in the next game, but Ivanovic returned the favour in the seventh game and then served out the match. "It took a long time but I was happy to keep my composure," said Ivanovic, who acknowledged that her serve had been causing her trouble. "It's a lot of things mixed up. I try to take a bit more time. It was much better today." Russia's Vera Zvonareva, seeded seventh, registered an emphatic 6-0 6-0 victory over hapless Romanian opponent Edina Gallovits. But Slovakian 19th seed Daniela Hantuchova had to work harder to reach the third round, overcoming France's Mathilde Johansson 6-3 4-6 6-3. Sugiyama, 26th seed, recovered from a dreadful first set to beat French contender Nathalie Dechy 1-6 6-1 6-3.
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