Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, fresh off her win at the China Open, says she is determined to finish the year as the WTA’s top player and is eyeing Grand Slam glory next season.
The world No. 2, now just 21 points behind Serena Williams at the top of the rankings, beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets on Sunday, avenging her defeat the previous week in Tokyo at the hands of the Russian.
Jankovic also made up for defeat in the China Open final last year where she led by a set and 5-1 over underdog Agnes Szavay.
PHOTO: EPA
But the Serbian, who briefly reached No. 1 in August, insisted that topping the rankings was of secondary importance to winning the race to amass the most points in 2008 before the season-ending championships in Doha.
She is currently atop that list at 4,055 points, ahead of US Open champion Williams at 3,680.
“I’m happy to win the title of course. I’m coming very close to regaining that No. 1 spot,” Jankovic said following her 6-3, 6-2 win over Kuznetsova in Beijing.
“I’m not really thinking about the number one ranking in the moment. I’m just playing one match at a time and working hard at my game and really trying to develop something and improve some technique in my game, which is the most important thing for me,” she said.
“Of course, I’d love to come back to the No. 1 position and most importantly end the year as the No. 1 player,” she said.
The 23-year-old Jankovic has insisted she feels under no pressure to win her first Grand Slam.
“I’ll work very hard in the off-season and try to get stronger and fitter and try to bring my tennis into the next level and hopefully I can win a Grand Slam next year,” she said.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
RSS