US Open, Flushing Meadows
Dates: 30 August - 12 September Start time: 1600 BST
Coverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles; updates on BBC Radio 5 live; live on Sky Sports  Serbian Jankovic reached the final of the US Open two years ago
Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the US Open at the third-round stage after losing to Estonia's Kaia Kanepi. Serbian Jankovic, 25, struggled from the start in strong winds in New York and Kanepi continued her impressive recent run with a 6-2 7-6 (7-1) win. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark had no such problems, easing through 6-0 6-1 against Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan. She faces 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round after the Russian's 6-0 6-0 demolition of Beatrice Capra. But Jankovic's search for a maiden Grand Slam title continues and she never looked likely to progress in the difficult conditions.  | 606: DEBATE |
Kanepi eased through the first set as Jankovic failed to find any rhythm and the 31st seed took total control. Jankovic won three successive games to take the second set to a tie-break, but Kanepi proved far too strong. "I had a hard time serving in the wind - the ball was going all over the place," said Jankovic. "But my opponent dealt with it better than I did and she deserves to go through. The 25-year-old Kanepi, who reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in the summer, will now play Belgian Yanina Wickmayer for a place in the quarters. Wickmayer, the 15th seed, eventually overcame Switzerland's Patty Schnyder after more than two and a half hours on court, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-6 (8-6). Wozniacki, a US Open finalist in 2009, was delighted after a much shorter afternoon's work at Louis Armstrong Stadium.  Wozniacki completed her win in an hour and 13 minutes |
"It was tough for both of us as it was pretty windy, but I kind of thought it was fun. It was a little bit different," she said. "Maria is a good player, a tough match up. But I will take today and tomorrow off and we will see what happens on Monday." The 20-year-old's run in the tournament - she has dropped three games in three matches - is the best since Chris Evert lost only two games over the same period in the 1976 event. Number 14 seed Sharapova knows she will have to play her best to stand any chance against the top seed. "She's playing probably the best tennis of her career," said Sharapova. "She was a finalist here last year so she is very familiar with this court. It'll be tough but I'm looking forward to it." Sharapova's compatriot Vera Zvonareva had few problems inseeing off Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-2 7-6 (7-2) while Svetlana Kuznetsova emerged victorious in the all-Russian match against Maria Kirilenko. Breaks in the first and final games of the opening set tied up the opener before Kirilenko sent a forehand looping long to hand the number 11 seed a 6-3 6-4 victory. Kuznetsova will next face Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, made her way into the fourth round with a 6-0 6-1 demolition of Spanish qualifier Lourdes Dominguez Lino. Dominguez Lino, who beat British teenager Heather Watson on route to the main draw, was outclassed as Cibulkova advanced to meet either Maria Kirilenko or Svetlana Kuznetsova. China's last representative in the draw, Peng Shuai, handed Germany's Andrea Petkovic a walkover as she bowed out of the tournament with a injury to her right elbow.
| 
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?