China’s Peng shocks Jankovic at Open
Peng Shuai of China returns the ball during the match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.SD-Agencies
CHINA’S Peng Shuai knocked former world No. 1 and seventh seed Jelena Jankovic out of the Australian Open on Thursday, her 7-6, 6-3 second-round win providing the first genuine upset of the week at Melbourne Park.
Serbian Jankovic blew a lead of two service breaks in the first set before claiming a third to force a tiebreak, which she lost 7-3.
Peng, ranked 54th in the world after struggling with injury last year, broke for a 4-2 lead in the second and served out for victory three games later, dancing around the Hisense Arena court with a huge smile on her face.
Jankovic was once again left ruing her inconsistency after serving up 39 unforced errors against her deceptively hard-hitting opponent.
Peng said her victory had boosted her confidence for the remainder of the tournament.
“Maybe I believe more in myself now,” Peng said.
“I was really happy with today’s win, I thought I played well.
“At first I was really nervous and she’s a good player. I couldn’t really get into the match.
“But I told myself not to rush, to slow down a bit and just try to fight for every point.”
Jankovic, whose previous best Australian championship was a semifinal appearance in 2008, said she lost control of the match with a few stray shots and could not rein Peng back in.
“Yeah, I was leading 4-1 and had everything under my control,” she said.
“I was playing pretty well but then I just had some loose errors and she played as well some good points.
“And little by little she was getting her momentum, and I started completely going down.
“You know, it was a bad day for me.”
Peng’s triumph continues China’s good showing in the women’s draw at the Australian Open, now officially titled the “Grand Slam of the Asia/Pacific.”
China’s Li Na and Zheng Jie both reached the semifinals last year. Ninth seed Li reached the third round Wednesday with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory over Evgeniya Rodina of Russia, while Zheng missed the tournament through injury. (SD-Agencies)
Source:ShenzhenDaily | Editer:王佳