Jankovic fears surface
Jelena Jankovic headed into her Wimbledon last-16 clash with Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn today wary of the conditions which played a part in the demise of her top-seeded rivals.
Both Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova were dumped out in stunning fashion during the first week, leaving the pressure on second-seeded Serb Jankovic to avoid a similar fate.
The portents are not good for Jankovic, however, who admits grass is not her favourite surface and who has been troubled by a knee injury sustained in the course of her three-set third-round win over Caroline Wozniacki.
Jankovic said: “Somehow, the top players and top seeds (usually) get through these rounds even though they’re not playing so well. Then they start playing better for the rest of the tournament.
“But the conditions are quite tough here. It’s very windy and you have a lot of bad bounces. And the players they played against just went out on court and really played their best tennis.
“I just play one match at a time. Grass is not my favourite. I have my worst (grand slam) record here at Wimbledon, so I hope to improve that record somehow.”
Given Jankovic’s travails, the momentum was swinging back in favour of a third all-Williams final, with Venus due to face Alisa Kleybanova and Serena up against her fellow American Bethanie Mattek.
Venus, who has been in fine form throughout the tournament to date, insists she always believed another family affair was on the cards despite she and her sister starting as only seventh and sixth seeds, respectively.
Venus said: “The chances were wonderful from the beginning, from round one. That’s how we see it.
“The more we progress, the closer it gets. But personally, I’m really focused on my next round.”
No fewer than six Russians will contest places in the quarter-finals, including fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is up against rising Polish star Agnieszka Radwanska.
Nadia Petrova and Alla Kudryavtseva, the conqueror of Sharapova, meet in an all-Russian match-up, while fifth seed Elena Dementieva plays Israel’s Shahar Peer, who squeezed through against Dinara Safina.
Meanwhile, last year’s quarter-finalist Nicole Vaidisova believes she is returning to top form after a dismal claycourt season as she prepares to take on eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze.
Vaidisova said: “I made some changes in my team and got a new coach. I’m definitely happy it’s paying off and I’m making some progress. I feel confident with my game.”
