Tennis News

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Danka Kovinic has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the rankings in the last 12 months, but was made to work in the first round of the Rio Open; the No.3 seed beat American Sachia Vickery, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in just over two hours.

“It was so tough to play,” a tired Kovinic admitted after the match. “It’s very humid and hot here, and I came from Serbia, where it’s very cold. For me, it was very hard to play; I felt like I didn’t have energy, but somehow I found a way to finish the match.

“I really don’t feel good right now.”

At a career-high ranking of No.50, the 21-year-old Montenegrin next plays the winner of veterans Romina Oprandi and Sílvia Soler Espinosa for a spot in the quarterfinals and the chance to pocket valuable ranking points that can help her return to Rio later this summer for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

“I’ll try to do the best to earn as much points as I can; I really need them for the Olympic games. That’s my goal for this year.”

Earlier in the day, No.5 seed Polona Hercog took out qualifier Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 6-2, and resurgent American Shelby Rogers upset No.8 seed Andreea Mitu, 6-2, 6-2. Mitu’s countrywoman Ana Bogdan defeated local wildcard Gabriela Ce, 6-2, 6-3, while Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg recovered from a set down to defeat Anna Tatishvili, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3.

An intriguing first round match concerns a pair of wildcards in Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia and former World No.21 Sorana Cirstea, who is playing her first WTA event since last fall in Tokyo; despite a rain delay in the second set, Cirstea emerged victorious, 6-2, 6-1.

DUBAI, UAE – Jelena Jankovic was two games from elimination in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Playing against against No.5 seed Belinda Bencic – who made her Top 10 debut on Monday – the former No.1 survived an onslaught from the 18-year-old to come out on top, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

“I just fought every point,” Jankovic said during her on-court interview. “I tried to hang in there; Belinda was playing so well and I was almost on the edge of losing in the second set but I fought hard and I’m lucky to win.”

Coming to Dubai a mere days after reaching the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Bencic led by a set and a break, and had her chances in the final set as well, saving 14 of 17 break points faced – including three in a row in the eighth game of the third – but Jankovic proved too strong in the end.

“I made a few tactical changes, and my fighting spirit all added up together and it made me win at the end. Belinda is coming from the finals in St. Petersburg; she’s playing very well, she’s in form, and I’m happy to win tonight.”

In a match that had little between the two, the Serb hit 37 winners to 33 from the Swiss, and eight fewer errors than her much younger opponent – 44 to 52.

“When you look at it, I’m like 12 years older than her, almost her whole age!” Jankovic joked. “That was my advantage tonight.”

Up next for the 2008 US Open finalist is good friend Andrea Petkovic; the German had a seamless first round victory over Camila Giorgi 24 hours ago, dropping just three games.

“It’s all with the ‘-ic’ if you look at it,” Jankovic said with a laugh. “Jankovic, Bencic, and Petkovic all on this side of the draw!

“It’s kind of cool, but Andrea is my friend and I know her very well. We just practiced with each other a couple of days ago. We know each other’s games and there’s no secrets.

“It will be another tough match and hopefully I can play well and we’ll see how it goes.”

“When you look at it, I'm like 12 years older than her. I'm almost her whole age!” -@Jelena_Jankovic on Bencic #WTA https://t.co/lMeue1myOq

— WTA (@WTA) February 16, 2016