===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Major)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. Fourth-round review: Bartoli v Jankovic

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1. Photos
---------

Various players from Sunday, including Marion Bartoli:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7849577.stm
http://preview.tinyurl.com/chlcag (The Daily Telegraph - UK)

Various players from Saturday, including Peng,Shuai:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7848570.stm

------------------------------------------
2. Fourth-round review: Bartoli v Jankovic (Sunday 25th January 2009)
------------------------------------------

+ MARION BARTOLI [16,DF,S] d. JELENA JANKOVIC [1], 6-1 6-4

I saw Marion's match-point on a BBC Sports News round-up (on Freeview-
channel 302): she forced a short ball from Jankovic, and hit a
beautiful, early, two-handed off-forehand winner.


2.1 Articles
------------

Marion's Melbourne Blog
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2896
>>>
[Friday 23rd January 2009]

It was difficult, but my match with Lucie Šafárová ended up being
really great. She was playing really, really well at the beginning,
and was even up 6-3 2-0, but I was able to come back and win. I'm so
happy about it.

It was also really exciting to have so much support in the crowd -
not just the French fans, but also Australians. When Lucie was
hitting lines, they were cheering for me, and it helped me to keep
fighting. I started playing better after the first few games of the
second set, and when I got that set in my pocket, it got even better.

It's my first time in the fourth round in Australia, which is so
exciting for me - I've never played so well here! Next match I have
Jelena Jankovic: the No.1 player in the world, so that'll be a real
challenge, obviously!

Right now, I'm so tired. I feel like I need to rest a lot before my
next match. I'm going to take tomorrow completely off. <snip>

Marion

[Sunday 25th January 2009]

As you may have heard, I beat Jelena Jankovic today. I just came from
an hour and a half of press, and I still have another interview to
go: with a French newspaper. So by the end of it all, it'll be two
hours of press, which is a record for me! It's about 3pm now, and I
haven't had anything to eat since I had breakfast at 6am! But I'm
hanging tough >:)

I've already said I never played this well in Australia, but it just
gets better and better. The other day, when I was down 6-3 2-0, I
didn't know if I would still be here today. Lucie was hitting the
lines and giving me no chance at all - she was too good. But I began
to focus even harder and fought as hard as I could, and I was able to
raise my game and win. I think I continued that today. It felt like
everything I did was going in and I hit lots of winners too. I'm even
prouder because it was the first time I ever played on Rod Laver
Arena - I'm so happy to have put on this kind of performance for the
Australian fans. I'm so, so happy.

After the match, Jelena's coach came and congratulated me, saying I
played really well and made it hard for Jelena to do anything. It was
a really nice gesture! I haven't spoken to Jelena since the match,
mainly because both of us have been doing so many interviews!
But we'll talk soon I'm sure.

<snip>

Tonight and tomorrow I'll rest again, because the matches are only
going to get tougher and tougher. I'm playing Zvonarëva or Petrova,
who are both so tough. Vera is more consistent - it feels like she
only makes one unforced error per match. Nadia's shots are probably
harder, but she can make more errors. But it doesn't matter who I
play; I'll have to put in a really good performance.

<snip>

Marion
<<<

World No.1 Jankovic Falls To Bartoli; Safina Survives
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2921
>>>
For just the third time in the Open Era, the top seed at the
Australian Open fell before the quarter-finals, as Jelena Jankovic
was bundled out in the fourth round by No.16 seed Marion Bartoli.

It wasn't so much Jankovic's playing that caused the 6-1 6-4 defeat -
after all, she had more winners than unforced errors in the match,
even in the lopsided first set. Bartoli was in the zone, firing 34
winners to just 20 errors, and completely dictating play from
beginning to end. Things got a bit tighter in the second set as
Jankovic pulled even at 4-4, holding several points to go ahead 5-4;
but the Frenchwoman muscled herself back into the lead with her two-
fisted returns, breaking for 5-4, then gloriously serving it out with
a series of huge serves, and a forehand down the line winner to
finish it off.

"I think I just played just a great match," Bartoli said. "I hung in
there when it was time to hang in there. I went for my shots when I
needed to go for my shots. I returned well. I was not overwhelmed by
the situation, and it felt like everything went in today. It was a
great match. I'm so happy with how everything went."

Bartoli's run at the 2009 Australian Open is reminiscent of her run
to the final of 2007 Wimbledon, not only because it is an unlikely
run on paper - she was the No.18 seed at the All-England Club that
year - but because she took out the world No.1 there too, stunning
Justine Henin in the semi-finals. Coincidentally, she beat a No.3-
ranked Jankovic in the fourth round there, albeit it was a far closer
match.

In her third round here, Bartoli was down and out against Lucie
Šafárová, rallying from 3-6 0-2 down to win 3-6 6-2 6-1. The player
that showed up against Jankovic was definitely the player who won 12
of the last 13 games against Šafárová.

"I was confident today because I played really well in my last
match," Bartoli said. "I knew I could beat Jelena on a good day - it
was just a matter of executing it, playing the right shots at the
right times and not making too many mistakes."

Jankovic, who was trying to claim her first Major singles-title, is
the third Australian Open top seed in the Open Era to fall before the
quarters, after Virginia Ruzici (who fell in the first round in 1979)
and Steffi Graf (who fell in the fourth round in 1997). It was the
Serb's fourth loss in seven meetings against Bartoli.

"All the credit to her - it was her day," a gracious Jankovic
said. "It's obviously disappointing. Nobody likes to lose. I had a
lot of opportunities in the second set to come back, but just didn't
do what I was supposed to. I had some chances in the first set even,
but let my opponent get on top of me and play her game. She played
really well and went for her shots. She even played first and second
serves the same. She hit whatever she could. She knew what she had to
do."

Bartoli will next face No.7 seed Vera Zvonarëva, who edged No.10 seed
Nadia Petrova, 7-5 6-4. Zvonarëva had been 1:5 against Petrova going
in, including losing their last four meetings in straight sets.
Zvonarëva will have a different outlook going in this time, having a
6:1 head-to-head edge against Bartoli.

"The last time I played her, I lost 6-0 6-1, so I hope to do better
this time!" Bartoli told the Rod Laver Arena crowd during an on-court
interview after her win.
<<<

Top-seeded Jankovic beaten in 4th round (AP)
>>>
Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic is out of the Australian Open, beaten in
straight sets by 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli of France.

Bartoli beat the Serbian star 6-1 6-4 in the opening match on Sunday
at Rod Laver Arena. Jankovic lost last year's US Open final to Serena
Williams, and has never won a Major title.

In the second set, Bartoli went ahead 5-4 on a service-break, then
held to win the match with a forehand winner.

The 24-year-old Bartoli lost to Venus Williams at Wimbledon two years
ago, and has never advanced past the second round in seven previous
trips to Melbourne Park.

"I tried to not think about it for the whole match," Bartoli said of
a possible upset of the No.1-ranked player.

"This is my first time playing in Rod Laver Arena. I think I just
played amazingly today, and I'm so glad to put on a good performance."
<<<

Jankovic bundled out of Open by Bartoli (Reuters)
By Greg Stutchbury (editing by Alastair Himmer)
>>>
Top seed Jelena Jankovic was knocked out of the Australian Open by an
inspired Marion Bartoli in the fourth round on Sunday.

The Frenchwoman capitalised on the Serbian's shaky serve, blasting
winners at every opportunity before ending the world number-one's
misery 6-1 6-4 in just 82 minutes.

The unconventional Bartoli, who, despite being right-handed, plays
two-handed off both sides, had not advanced beyond the Australian
Open second round in seven previous attempts.

The 16th seed set up a quarter-final against Russian Vera Zvonarëva.

"I was really confident, because I played really well my last match
against [Lucie] Šafárová," the 24-year-old Bartoli told reporters.

"I knew I could beat Jelena on a good day, it was just a matter of
executing, you know: play the right shot at the right time, and don't
make too many mistakes.

"But I was not overwhelmed by the situation, and I just went for my
shots, and everything went in today. It was just a great match."

DELICATE DROP

Bartoli, hitting winners from both sides off the baseline, won the
first five games of the match, clinching the first set with a
delicate drop-push that left Jankovic wafting at thin air.

The Serb won just 13 points on her own serve in the first set, but
losing the set seemed to wake Jankovic up, although both players
struggled with their serve in the second: each breaking the other
twice in the first eight games.

Bartoli hung tough, however, securing her fifth break of the match,
and booking her place in the quarter-finals after rifling a
crosscourt backhand winner past a deflated Jankovic.

"It's obviously disappointing. Nobody likes to lose," said
Jankovic. "Today was a tough day for me. I let my opponent completely
come on top of me and play her game.

"I had a slow start. I gave her a lot of confidence throughout the
match, and then in the second set, I also had a lot of opportunities
to come back and try to get in the game somehow.

"She was the better one, and all the credit. She went for all her
shots and hit whatever she could. She knew that she had to do that in
order to win, and it was her day."
<<<

Jankovic blames loss on lack of preparation (Reuters)
By Greg Stutchbury (Editing by Alastair Himmer)
>>>
World number-one Jelena Jankovic lamented her lack of preparation as
a factor in her Australian Open fourth-round loss to Marion Bartoli
on Sunday.

The 6-1 6-4 defeat cemented the worst performance by a women's top
seed at the year's first Major since Germany's Steffi Graf lost at
the same stage to South Africa's Amanda Coetzer in 1997.

"I haven't played for a while. For two months, I didn't compete.
I was supposed to play an exhibition in Hong Kong," the 23-year-old
Jankovic told reporters.

"Unfortunately, me and my mother, we got sick, so it was very hard
when I couldn't play some matches over there, which I wanted: just to
feel the atmosphere, get the rhythm on the court.

"I'm this kind of a player who needs a little bit of time to get used
to it, to get the routine playing matches and get the confidence.

"Then I feel that I can do whatever I want on the court. At the
moment, I'm still not there."

Jankovic added: "I'm still finding my range, to get that confidence
when I'm playing. Today, I just couldn't find it."

An aggressive Bartoli capitalised on the Serbian's inconsistent
serve, blasting winners at every opportunity.

"My opponent was really on fire today, and she was hitting everything
and really went for her shots," said Jankovic. "Most of those were
going in. It was tough.

"I couldn't do my own thing. I just couldn't do what I needed to do.
My shots were not where I wanted to be."

Jankovic, who has yet to win a Major, will lose the world's top
ranking at the end of the tournament if Serena Williams or Elena
Dementieva make the final.

"I really enjoy being the number-one, and I proved that at the end of
last year when I won three tournaments in a row," she said.

"You know, it doesn't matter, because it's just the beginning of the
year, and there are many more tournaments to play.

"So maybe it will change - the number-one ranking - but it's not
important what you do now; it's the whole year ahead of us.

"[There are] a lot of tournaments, a lot of battles out there. You
know, the best one will finish it. I think, at least for me, the most
important thing is how you finish - not how you begin."
<<<

Revitalised Bartoli delighted with victory over Jankovic (Reuters)
By Greg Stutchbury (editing by John O'Brien)
>>>
Marion Bartoli vanquished the memories of last year's debilitating
illness with a comprehensive demolition of world number-one Jelena
Jankovic in the Australian Open on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Frenchwoman blasted winners from the baseline, and
chased down everything the Serbian top seed threw at her to advance
to the quarter-finals with the 6-1 6-4 victory.

"I was struggling with my health for the first six months of the
year. I was just not able to practise as I should to be ready to play
some tennis at the pro level," Bartoli told reporters.

"Some days, I was staying three days in a row inside my room at home,
or even in the hotel-room when I was on the Tour.

"There is no way - even if I'm tough mentally - to win some matches
like that.

"I think I had a great run to finish inside the top 20, which [in]
half of the season was quite an achievement."

The victory for Bartoli - who had not advanced beyond the Australian
Open second round in seven previous attempts - came two weeks after
she made the final at the Brisbane International, and she said an off-
season training-programme was paying dividends.

"At the end of last year, I was playing well, but having this little
problem to win some tough matches in a row, and be able to go day in
and day out and be strong physically," the 16th seed said.

"I was fit, but not strong enough. I really put in hard work during
the off-season, and today it showed."

Bartoli had won her last three matches against Jankovic to amass a
3:3 career record against the Serb, and the surprise Wimbledon 2007
finalist said she had nothing to fear.

"When I step on the court, no matter who is my opponent on the other
side of the net, I really feel I have some chances to win.

"I was not overwhelmed by the situation, and I just went for my shots
and everything went in."

Bartoli who modelled her two-handed shotmaking off both sides after
Monica Seles, said the victory against Jankovic meant little other
than advancing to the quarter-final against Russia's Vera Zvonarëva.

"[It] doesn't mean I'm going to win the tournament.

"It's not working like that. There are some really tough players left
into the draw, and I just hope to be able to achieve the same kind of
matches in the quarter-final, and maybe I will go all the way."
<<<

Relieved Federer through, Jankovic falls at Open (Reuters)
By Ossian Shine (editing by Alan Baldwin)
>>>
A roar of relief marked Roger Federer's comeback from two sets down
at the Australian Open on Sunday, while women's world number-one
Jelena Jankovic was mute and ineffectual in a fourth-round defeat.

There were no good signs for Jankovic, who was blown off court by
French typhoon Marion Bartoli: 6-1 6-4.

"When I'm on the top of my game, it's very hard to beat me, because
you really have to kind of spill blood if you want to win the match,"
Jankovic mused afterwards.

"But at the moment, I'm not there yet. I still need to get better, to
improve, be much, much tougher out there. Nobody likes to lose.
Today was a tough day for me."

Jankovic's tough day was a jubilant one for Bartoli.

"I knew I could beat Jelena on a good day - it was just a matter of
executing," she told reporters.

Bartoli next plays Vera Zvonarëva, after the seventh seed beat her
10th-seeded fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-5 6-4.
<<<

Bartoli bounces top-seeded Jankovic in straight sets (PA SportsTicker)
>>>
Top seed and world No.1 Jelena Jankovic was knocked out of the
Australian Open after Marion Bartoli won their fourth-round encounter
in straight sets: 6-1 6-4 on Sunday.

Jankovic's exit paves the way for the three players ranked
immediately below her to take the coveted top spot.

If one of Serena Williams, Dinara Safina or Elena Dementieva wins the
tournament, she will take the top spot. But with Safina having fewer
ranking-points to defend, she has a chance to claim the top ranking
even if she only reaches the semi-finals. Williams and Dementieva
must reach the final in order to stand a chance of becoming world
number-one.

But Jankovic is unconcerned.

"It doesn't matter, because it's just the beginning of the year and
there are many more tournaments to play," the Serb said.

"Maybe it will change, but it's not important what you do now;
there's the whole year ahead of us - a lot of tournaments, a lot of
battles, so the best one will finish top. For me, the most important
thing is how you finish - not how you begin."

Jankovic certainly didn't begin her match in the Rod Laver Arena
well, going 0-5 down before she survived two set-points to finally
get on the board.

It was a temporary reprieve, however, as Bartoli, the 16th seed,
closed out the set in just 31 minutes.

The world No.1 improved in the second set, holding her serve in the
first game, but she was broken again when she double-faulted in the
third.

Bartoli broke her again in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead, and
although Jankovic broke back, she could not hold her own serve.

Bartoli then had the chance to serve for the match, which she did.

"Nobody likes to lose; today was a tough day for me," admitted
Jankovic. "I had a slow start, and I let my opponent completely get
on top of me and play her game.

"But she was the better one, and all credit to her. She played really
well, went for all her shots."

Bartoli has now beaten Jankovic in their last three encounters for a
4-3 lead in head-to-head meetings.

"I was really confident, because I played really well in my last
match against [Lucie] Šafárová," Bartoli said. "I knew I could beat
Jelena on a good day - it was just a matter of executing it: play the
right shot at the right time, and not make too many mistakes.

"But I was not overwhelmed by the situation, and I just went for my
shots, and everything went in today. It was just a great match."

Seventh seed Vera Zvonarëva will play Bartoli in the quarter-finals
after defeating fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-5 6-4.
<<<

Top seed Jankovic crashes out of Australian Open (AFP)
>>>
World number-one Jelena Jankovic has crashed out of the Australian
Open with a humiliating 6-1 6-4 loss to French 16th seed Marion
Bartoli for the biggest upset of the tournament so far. [I consider
Carla Suárez Navarro's victory over Venus Williams to be a much
bigger upset.]

The top seed made a dismal start in her fourth-round match against
the fired-up Frenchwoman, finally calling on her renowned fighting
qualities too late into the match.

The loss extends Jankovic's Major drought, and marked Bartoli's best
performance at a Major since she reached the Wimbledon-final in 2007.

"I knew Jelena would fight. The last set was really hard for me, but
I tried to hang tough and play my game," Bartoli said.

"I played my shots and served so well. I'm just so happy."

Bartoli broke Jankovic in the second game, then prevented the Serb
breaking back twice in the next to race to a 3-0 lead.

The statistics in the first 10 minutes demonstrated Bartoli's
dominance: she hit seven winners while Jankovic could not manage one,
and committed a single unforced error to the Serb's four.

Jankovic looked lethargic as she tried to play her way into the
match, constantly casting frustrated glances towards coach Ricardo
Sánchez in the player's box.

In contrast, Bartoli was bouncing on her toes between points, and
chased down everything Jankovic sent her way, returning the world
number-one's groundstrokes with interest.

The Frenchwomen treated Jankovic's serve with distain, going up
another break in the fourth.

Only some desperate scrambling prevented Bartoli from completing a
humiliating clean sweep of the first set, with Jankovic finally
getting on the board after 27 minutes.

It was a temporary reprieve, and Bartoli outfoxed her opponent with a
delicately-hit dropshot four minutes later to take the first set.

The Serb's fightback did not begin until the fourth game of the
second set, when she broke Bartoli's serve for the first time in the
match.

Her opponent cancelled out the advantage in the next, with the pair
again exchanging breaks in the seven and eighth games.

Bartoli maintained the pressure, and the ninth game went to deuce six
times as she pressed for a decisive break to complete the rout.

She achieved it when Jankovic netted a backhand return, earning the
chance to serve out the match.

The Frenchwoman double-faulted on her first match-point, but sealed
the win with a crosscourt volley, raising her arms in victory.
<<<

Jankovic crashes out as tournament blown wide open (AFP)
>>>
The Australian Open was blown wide open when top seed Jelena Jankovic
crashed out, joining Ana Ivanovic and Venus Williams as high-profile
early-round casualties.

They were nearly joined by Russian third seed Dinara Safina, who
survived two match-points to claw back and beat France's Alizé Cornet
6-2 2-6 7-5.

Jankovic was crushed by French 16th seed Marion Bartoli 6-1 6-4,
giving more ammunition to critics who believe she doesn't deserve the
world number-one ranking having never won a Major.

With Ivanovic and Williams already gone, the first Major of the
season has become one of the most open ever, with Bartoli into a
quarter-final against either Russia's Nadia Petrova or Vera Zvonarëva.

"It's obviously disappointing. Nobody likes to lose," said Jankovic,
who looked lethargic as she tried to play her way into the match.

"It was a tough day for me. You know, I had a slow start. I let my
opponent completely come on top of me and play her game."

She is now likely to lose her top ranking, but insisted it was not
important.

"It doesn't matter, because it's just the beginning of the year, and
there is [sic] many more tournaments to play," she said.

"So, you know, maybe it will change - the number-one ranking - but
it's not important what you do now - it's the whole year ahead of us."

Bartoli was ecstatic at the upset, but said she always felt she could
win.

"I was really confident, because I played really well in my last
match against Lucie Šafárová," said the Frenchwoman, who made the
Wimbledon-final in 2007, where she was beaten by Venus Williams.

"I knew I could beat Jelena on a good day. It was just a matter of
executing it, you know: playing the right shot at the right time, and
not making too many mistakes.

"I'm just pleased about everything."
<<<

Superb Bartoli dumps out Jankovic (BBC Sport)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7849574.stm
>>>
Top seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Australian Open after a
stunning performance from French 16th seed Marion Bartoli, who won
6-1 6-4.

Bartoli took the first five games of the match to leave the Serbian
reeling.

Jankovic looked dismally out of sorts despite a brief resurgence in
the second set, and Bartoli reached the quarter-finals with
surprising ease.

Bartoli showed incredible movement and determination to destroy
Jankovic's chances of a second appearance in the Australian Open's
last eight.

The French 24-year-old has never previously made it past the second
round of the tournament, but she feasted on Jankovic's uncertain
second serve in a one-sided encounter on the Rod Laver Arena.

Bartoli broke five times as the Serbian, 23, battled both her own
inconsistency and the glare of the Melbourne-sun.

Jankovic's second set was a vast improvement on the first, but her
game continued to exhibit unforgivable unforced errors.

When Bartoli eventually broke again in a testing ninth game of the
second set, the last vestiges of Jankovic's resistance crumbled.

"I tried not to think about Jelena being the world number-one for the
whole match," said Bartoli.

"I think I just played amazingly today, and I'm so happy to put on a
good performance.

"I knew Jelena would fight, and the last set was really tough for me,
but I tried to play my game, and I served so well in the last game."

Jankovic, meanwhile, said she had become "lost in the match" and
allowed Bartoli to dominate.

"I let her hit all the shots that she wanted to. I let her play her
game," said Jankovic.

"I didn't do what I was supposed to do, and I couldn't get my rhythm
out there.

"She hit whatever she could. Her goal was just to get the first
strike and go for it, because she knew [that] if I got in the point,
she'd be in trouble."
<<<

Top seed Jelena Jankovic knocked out of Australian Open by Marion
Bartoli
By Mark Hodgkinson in Melbourne (The Daily Telegraph - UK)
>>>
Top seed and world No 1 Jelena Jankovic has been knocked out of the
Australian Open after Marion Bartoli won their fourth-round encounter
in straight sets: 6-1 6-4.

There are few players on the women's circuit who are as quirky or as
kooky as Bartoli: the Frenchwoman whose groundstrokes and service-
action are never going to earn her any style-points at Melbourne
Park. But Bartoli's unconventional tennis can be wonderfully
effective, and her defeat of Jankovic was a result that demonstrated
that players don't have to be slaves to the coaching-manual orthodoxy.

Many of the competitors in the women's game seem to have come off an
Eastern-Bloc-and-Nick-Bollettieri production-line: all with the same,
honed groundstrokes. Bartoli is refreshingly different, playing with
a style that you are unlikely to find in a coaching-textbook near
you: her serve is jerky and just plain weird, and her arms look
cramped when she hits her double-handed forehands and backhands.

This wasn't even the first time that Mademoiselle Bizarre had
embarrassed a world No.1 at a Major tournament, as she beat Justine
Henin of Belgium in the semi-finals of the 2007 Wimbledon
Championships, going on to finish as the runner-up that summer to
Venus Williams. Here she was again, taking centre-stage at Melbourne
Park.

"I'm just happy to be on the Rod Laver Arena, because I usually play
so badly at the Australian Open that I'm on Court 21," Bartoli said
after a 6-1 6-4 victory that took her into the quarter-finals of the
Australian Open for the first time.

Jankovic had wanted to show at Melbourne Park that she deserved to
have the top ranking by winning her first Major title, and she had
prepared during the close-season by scrambling over rocks on
endurance-runs in the Mexican mountains. She believed that, after the
altitude-training and a new sense of purpose off the court, she was
in the best shape of her tennis-life.

However, she had to withdraw from a semi-serious exhibition-
tournament in Hong Kong because of illness, and so came into
Melbourne Park without any form to go on. Jankovic has always tended
to take a while to find her range and her rhythm at the start of the
year, so she was vulnerable to defeat against Bartoli, especially
when the Frenchwoman decided to go for her shots.

It was the earliest defeat for a women's top seed at Melbourne Park
since Steffi Graf lost in the fourth round of the 1997 tournament to
South Africa's Amanda Coetzer.
<<<

Bartoli Blasts Jankovic Out Of Oz (Tennis Week)
>>>
Jelena Jankovic buried her face in her hands as if seeking shelter
from the break-point barrage she faced, but her palms proved to be
only a temporary reprieve.

The top-seeded Serbian arrived in Melbourne seeking her first Major
title, but an ambitious two-handed terror named Marion Bartoli
blasted Jankovic right out of Rod Laver Arena with today's 6-1 6-4
Australian Open fourth-round victory.

"It was my first time in Rod Laver Arena, and I just played
amazingly," Bartoli said. "I'm so happy to put on a good performance."

The 24-year-old Bartoli had not surpassed the second round in seven
previous appearances at the Melbourne Major; now she is one win
removed from the final four. Bartoli will play either seventh-seeded
Vera Zvonarëva or 10th-seeded Nadia Petrova in the quarter-finals.

Cracking crosscourt shots off her compact swings, Bartoli's sharp
timing and ability to take the ball early were evident in the first
set as she whipped 15 winners compared to five for Jankovic to roll
to a 5-0 lead and eventually seize the opening set in 31 minutes.

The 16th-seeded Frenchwoman kept creeping inside the baseline to rip
returns on the rise with such depth and accuracy, Jankovic was
sometimes just completing her service-motion only to see the reply
speed by.

Jankovic, who had trouble reading the shots off Bartoli's racquet,
faced a series of break-points in the ninth game of the second set.

Stepping into the court to attack Jankovic's second serve, Bartoli
broke for a 5-4 lead when a Jankovic backhand caught the top of the
tape.

The former Wimbledon-finalist smacked a service-winner down the
middle to earn triple match-point. She double-faulted going for an
ace on a second serve on her first break-point before firing a
forehand winner down the line to seal the victory.

It was Bartoli's third straight win over Jankovic, and it marked the
second time Bartoli has beaten Jankovic in the fourth round of a
Major: she scored a 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory en route to the 2007
Wimbledon-final.
<<<

Jelena Jankovic bundled out of Australian Open by Marion Bartoli
(Fox Sports / AAP)
>>>
Top seed Jelena Jankovic has been knocked out in the fourth round of
the Australian Open in straight sets by Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

World No.1 Jankovic - a losing semi-finalist at Melbourne Park last
year, who is still chasing her first Major title - was beaten 6-1 6-4
in one hour and 22 minutes by the No.16 seed.

Bartoli's career-highlight to date was reaching the final of
Wimbledon in 2007, before eventually going down to Venus Williams.

She dominated the first set of the encounter on Rod Laver Arena, and
held her nerve in the second.

The crucial moment came in the ninth game of the second set, which
Bartoli eventually won on her fourth break-point.

She then served out the match for one of the biggest wins of her
career.

Bartoli hit an an impressive tally of 34 winners in the two-set
match, compared to just 17 from Jankovic.

"It's obviously disappointing. Nobody likes to lose," said Jankovic,
who looked lethargic as she tried to play her way into the match.

"It was a tough day for me. You know, I had a slow start. I let my
opponent completely come on top of me and play her game."

She is now likely to lose her top ranking, but insisted it was not
important.

"It doesn't matter, because it's just the beginning of the year, and
there is many more tournaments to play," she said.

"So, you know, maybe it will change - the No.1 ranking - but it's not
important what you do now - it's the whole year ahead of us."

With Ana Ivanovic and Venus Williams already gone, the first Major of
the season has become one of the most open ever, with Bartoli into a
quarter-final against Russia's Vera Zvonarëva.

Seventh seed Zvonarëva advanced to quarter-finals after winning an
all-Russian clash with 10th seed Nadia Petrova: 7-5 6-4.
<<<

Jankovic's lofty ranking fails to compute (Leo Schlink, Fox Sports)
>>>
The WTA Tour's computer never lies.

Jelena Jankovic is No.1 in the world for a reason - but it's patently
clear that it's not because the haughty Serb is the best player on
the planet.

Her deflating 6-1 6-4 Australian Open defeat was the 22nd Major that
Jankovic has contested and failed to win. The closest she has come to
sealing acclaim as a genuine topliner was during a tight US Open
final in September.

Jankovic won a swag of matches - 65 - last season, but none were in a
Major final.

By the end of this tournament, Jankovic's grip on the No.1 ranking
will be seriously weakened - or completely loosened - depending on
other results.

For all her theatrics, Jankovic is a fine player.

But she does not deserve to be at No.1, even though the computer-
machinations make perfectly good arithmetic sense. Everybody -
possibly even Jankovic - knows that if Serena and Venus Williams or
Maria Sharapova had been able to dodge injury last season, Jankovic
would not have risen to No.1.

As it was, the right-hander closed the year in superb fashion,
winning three late-season tournaments. Voilŕ: Jankovic fulfils a
career dream.

"I think - at least for me - the most important thing is how you
finish - not how you begin," Jankovic said.

Fair enough. Amélie Mauresmo took 32 Major tournaments before she
broke through.

She was 26 when she triumphed at Melbourne Park in 2006.

Jankovic is 24 next month.

There is still plenty of time, but questions are mounting over her
mental toughness - or lack thereof.

Jankovic has a 31:32 record against fellow top-ten players. That's
not nearly good enough.

World No.2 Serena Williams has a 39:20 record against the same group.

Jankovic described the Bartoli-surrender as "a bad day of tennis, bad
day at the tennis."

"I want to be the No.1," she said.

"I don't want to be No.2 so that I don't have any pressure."

Even in defeat, Jankovic talked herself up.

"When I'm on the top of my game, it's very hard to beat me, because
you really have to kind of spill blood if you want to win the match,"
she said.

Time to reboot the computer; time for a reality-check.
<<<

Thumped (Tom Perrotta, TENNIS.com)
>>>
I remember this Jelena Jankovic. The one who whines on court when the
ball doesn't bounce her way. The one who uses instant-replay
challenges as if they were as abundant as oxygen. The one who
stubbornly refuses to think.

It's been a while since /this/ Jankovic showed up at a Major
tournament, however. Through all of last year, there was a sense that
Jankovic was on the upswing - an upswing confirmed by her fine
performance at the US Open, where she pushed Serena Williams to her
limit in the final. When Jankovic later took over the No.1 ranking,
she showed no satisfaction with her accomplishment. Instead, she
trained harder than ever over the off-season with the intention of
arriving in Melbourne as the favourite to win her first Major title.

The wait continues. Jankovic's plans were derailed on Sunday by one
of the WTA Tour's most dangerous and unpredictable players: Marion
Bartoli of France. This wasn't quite like Bartoli's performance at
Wimbledon 2007, when she ran roughshod over Justine Henin on her way
to the final. It's safe to say, though, that Bartoli is on her game
in Melbourne this year. She has lost weight (and suppressed her
obsession for chocolate), and recovered from a virus that left her
tired and unable to train for about three months in the early part of
2008. One of the worst moments came at the Indian Wells tournament,
where she felt she could not move from her bed. She didn't win three
matches in a row until late July.

"Some days, I was staying three days in a row inside my room at home,
or even in the hotel-room when I was on the Tour," Bartoli said.
"I couldn't practise at all for three days in a row."

Before most fans had filed into Rod Laver Arena on Sunday, Bartoli
held a 5-0 lead. She polished off the match 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 22
minutes. Match-ups matter in tennis: Just ask Tommy Robredo, who
dropped his 10th straight match to Andy Roddick yesterday. Robredo
doesn't return serve well; Roddick serves harder than anyone. Bartoli
and Jankovic are equally at odds. I wouldn't expect Bartoli to
outrank Jankovic anytime soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if she
wins the next time they meet, too. The Frenchwoman, who hits with two
hands on her forehand and backhand, doesn't think much of topspin,
and clobbers her service-returns (like the Williams-sisters, she
takes three or four steps inside the baseline). Jankovic, on the
other hand, can't serve. In this match, she won a mere 47% of the
points on her serve - including only 29% on her second serve.

Jankovic had not looked terribly strong leading up to the match.
She suffered a setback when she took ill in Hong Kong earlier this
year, and didn't play enough matches before this tournament began.
Still, she rightfully gave herself an "F" for her tactical
performance on Sunday. It's not wise to trade hard groundstrokes with
a hot Bartoli. When Jankovic used more spin (and less pace) and hit
more severe angles, Bartoli was forced to move up and back (she
doesn't excel at it) as well as side to side (her lateral movement is
underrated). Jankovic neglected this strategy all too often.

"When I'm on the top of my game, you know, it's very hard to beat me,
because you really have to kind of spill blood if you want to win the
match," Jankovic said. "But at the moment, I'm not there yet. I still
need to get better, to improve, be much, much tougher out there."

Though Jankovic said she wouldn't forget this loss for "months," she
couldn't bottle up her bubbly side.

"Was it you there in the match, or was it somebody else talking to me
during the match?" she asked a reporter. "When I was getting a towel,
there was a man just like you. To be honest, it's for real. Maybe
it's your clone or something."

At last, the real Jelena Jankovic arrives in Melbourne. Too bad she
sent her clone onto court.
<<<

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-selesians