Jelena Janković
 Janković at the 2009 French Open |
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| Country |  Yugoslavia (2000–2003) Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) Serbia (2006–present) |
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| Residence | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Born | February 28, 1985 Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) |
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)} [1] |
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb; 9.3 st) |
| Turned pro | February 6, 2000 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | US$13,803,115[1] |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 505–274 |
| Career titles | 13 WTA, 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (August 11, 2008) |
| Current ranking | No. 18 (May 20, 2013) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2008) |
| French Open | SF (2007, 2008, 2010) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010) |
| US Open | F (2008) |
| Championships | SF (2008, 2009) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 56–80 |
| Career titles | 1 WTA |
| Highest ranking | No. 43 (November 6, 2006) |
| Current ranking | No. 79 (May 20, 2013) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2008, 2013) |
| French Open | 2R (2007, 2011) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2010) |
| US Open | 3R (2006) |
| Mixed Doubles | |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (2007) |
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Last updated on: May 20, 2013. |
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Jelena Janković (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Јанковић, pronounced [jɛ̌lɛna jǎːnkɔv̞itɕ], born February 28, 1985) is a professional tennis player from Serbia of Montenegrin descent. Janković is a former World No. 1 in singles, in the months following her finals appearance at the 2008 US Open. Janković's career highlights include winning the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title with Jamie Murray, the 2010 BNP Paribas Open,[2] the Internazionali BNL d'Italia twice, in 2007 and 2008 and the aforementioned appearance in the finals of the 2008 US Open. As of 20 May 2013[update] Janković is ranked No. 18.[3]
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Family and early life [edit]
Janković was born in Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as the third child of Veselin and Snežana, both economists.[citation needed]. She has two brothers, Marko and Stefan. She is a student at the Megatrend University in Belgrade, studying economics. However, she has put her course of study on indefinite hold as she continues to pursue her tennis career. Janković learned her first tennis skills at the Tennis Club 'Red Star'.[4] As a nine-and-a-half year old she was introduced to tennis by her elder brother and fitness coach Marko.[5] With 11 years has won the national championship in the competition to 12 years. She was later trained at the Tennis Academy of Nick Bollettieri. As a junior she won the 2001 Australian Open[6] and reached junior no. 1 in the world.[7] In 2001, she started to play on the WTA Tour; she reached the second round at her first tournament at the Indian Wells Masters.
Tennis career [edit]
In October 2003, Janković entered the top 100 at no. 90 for the first time, after winning her first ITF title in Dubai. Three months later, Janković garnered her first top-10 win against Elena Dementieva in the first round of the 2004 Australian Open. In May, Janković won her first WTA title, a Tier V event, in Budapest, defeating Martina Suchá in the final. Following her win in Budapest, she reached no. 51 in the world. Elsewhere in her 2004 season, she defeated top-20 players Nadia Petrova (twice), Vera Zvonareva, Patty Schnyder, Elena Dementieva and Paola Suárez. Janković finished 2004 ranked no. 28 in the world.
She was ranked world no. 1 for seventeen consecutive weeks until she was overtaken by Serena Williams on February 2, 2009. She was the year-end world no. 1 in 2008, the second player in the history of the WTA tour to do this without winning a Grand Slam title, after Kim Clijsters.
Janković has reached the singles final of the US Open and the singles semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open. In 2007, she became the first Serbian player to win a Grand Slam title when she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with British partner Jamie Murray.[8]
She is one of only seven players who has defeated both Williams sisters at the same tournament, and one of three players who were world no. 1 and as a junior and a senior. Janković also enjoyed one of the longest recent unbroken streaks in the Top 10 of recent years, entering it in early 2007, and remaining there for four years and three months, before dropping out in mid-2011.
2005 [edit]
In March, at Dubai, she advanced to the final following Serena Williams's retirement in the semifinal. Janković then lost in the final to Lindsay Davenport in three sets. She made her first Tier I semifinal in Berlin, losing to Nadia Petrova. In June, she reached her first grass-court final at Birmingham, but lost to Maria Sharapova. In October, Janković reached her third final of the year in Seoul, ranked no. 17 in the world, her highest ranking at that time, losing to 16-year-old Nicole Vaidišová in straight sets. Her ranking at the end of the season eclipsed her 2004 record at no. 22.
2006 [edit]
Janković lost in the second round of the Australian Open to world no. 188 Olga Savchuk. That was the first of ten straight losses, not winning a match from late January into early May. She later said this run caused her to consider quitting tennis. Janković ended her losing streak by beating world no. 17 Elena Likhovtseva in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, before eventually losing to Venus Williams in three sets in the quarterfinals. At the French Open, Janković reached the third round for the first time, where she lost to world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo.
At Wimbledon, Janković surprisingly defeated sixth-seeded and defending champion Venus Williams in the third round in three sets. Competing in the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time, she lost to ninth-seeded Anastasia Myskina. In August, Janković reached her fifth career final and first of the year at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, defeating Serena Williams (ranked world no. 108 at the time after a lengthy injury lay-off) in the semifinals, before losing to third-seeded Elena Dementieva in the final. The US Open saw Janković defeat world no. 10 Vaidišová in the third round, world no. 7 and former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round, and world no. 5 Dementieva in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the semifinals, Janković lost to world no. 2 Justine Henin in three sets, after Janković had led 6–4, 4–2. Janković argued with the chair umpire, when the umpire refused to offer an opinion as to whether a service call had been correct, suggesting that Janković use one of her electronic challenges. Janković then lost ten consecutive games.
Janković continued her strong form in the aftermath of the US Open. Of the six tournaments she played during the remainder of the year, she reached the quarterfinals at five. This included a run to the semifinals at the China Open in Beijing, defeating world no. 7 Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals, before losing to world no. 1 Mauresmo in a third set tiebreak. Janković finished the year at a career-high ranking of world no. 12.
2007 [edit]
To begin the year, Janković won the second title of her career at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final. The following week, at the Medibank International in Sydney, Janković defeated world no. 7 and former no. 1 Martina Hingis and top-seeded Amélie Mauresmo on the way to the final, where she lost to Kim Clijsters after serving for the match.[9] Janković's strong start to the year meant that some considered her a title threat at the Australian Open; however, she was eliminated in the fourth round by the eventual champion Serena Williams. Because of her results at these tournaments, her ranking rose to world no. 10, the first time she had been included in the top 10.
Janković reached two semifinals in the Middle East in the spring, retiring against Mauresmo due to an ankle injury at the Dubai Tennis Championships, and losing in three sets to Justine Henin at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, Qatar. However, she then failed to reach the semifinals at any of her next three tournaments. Janković rebounded in the clay-court season, defeating Venus Williams on a third set tiebreak in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. She went on to defeat Dinara Safina in the final to win the first Tier I title of her career. On European red clay, after losing to world no. 1 Henin in three sets both in the semifinals of the J&S Cup in Warsaw and the quarterfinals of the Qatar Telecom German Open (failing to hold a 4–0 lead in the third set in the latter), Janković won her second career Tier I title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. This results meant she entered the top 5 in the world rankings for the first time. Janković was the fourth seed at the French Open and one of the favorites for the title. After registering her third consecutive victory over Venus Williams in the third round, she went on to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career, but lost there to eventual champion Henin. This improved her ranking to a new career-high of world no. 3.
On grass, Janković captured the DFS Classic title in Birmingham, beating top-seeded Maria Sharapova in the final. Sharapova led 3–0 in the third set, before Janković rallied to win the match. This was her first career victory over Sharapova. The next week, Janković reached the final of the Ordina Open in the Netherlands and became the first player since Chris Evert in 1974 to win 50 matches in the first half of a year.[citation needed] Janković, suffering from a hamstring injury, lost the final to Anna Chakvetadze. At Wimbledon, Janković was the third seed, but lost in the fourth round to the surprise eventual finalist Marion Bartoli. In the mixed doubles competition at Wimbledon, Janković teamed with doubles specialist Jamie Murray to win the title in three sets by beating the fifth-seeded team, Jonas Björkman and Alicia Molik.[8]
During the North American summer hard-court season, Janković reached the semifinals of the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California, but lost there to fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic, having held two match points in the final set.[10] The following week, Janković reached the final of the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, where she lost to Henin on Henin's sixth match point. Janković had led 4–1 in the first set and 4–2 in the second set, but was unable to maintain her lead. At the US Open, Janković lost to Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.
Janković's form tailed off following the US Open. At the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, Janković was upset in the quarterfinals by former world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport, in Davenport's first singles tournament since giving birth. The following week at the China Open in Beijing, Janković defeated Davenport, but lost in the final to Hungarian teenager Ágnes Szávay, after Janković had a match point in the second set.[11] Janković finished the year on a six-match losing streak, losing all three of her round-robin matches on her debut at the year-end WTA Tour Championships in Madrid, including her seventh loss of the year to Henin. She finished the year ranked world no. 3.
Janković had successful nose surgery immediately after Madrid to correct a breathing problem. The surgery prevented her from practicing for three weeks.
Olympic Committee of Serbia declared her the sportswoman of the year.[12]
2008 [edit]
Janković lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to eventual champion Maria Sharapova in straight sets, having defeated defending champion Serena Williams en route. In March at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Janković lost in the semifinals to Ana Ivanovic. The following fortnight, Janković reached her first final of the year at the Miami Masters, losing to Serena Williams in three sets.[13]
Janković started the clay-court season by losing in the quarterfinals of both the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina and the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin. Janković then successfully defended her Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia title in Rome, after defeating Venus Williams in three sets in the quarterfinals, receiving a walkover from the injured Sharapova in the semifinals, and defeating French teenager Alizé Cornet in the final. This was Janković's first singles title of the year. She went into the French Open among the favorites, following the sudden retirement of four-time champion Justine Henin. However, she lost to compatriot and eventual champion Ivanovic after leading by a break in the third set. Janković was the only player to win a set against Ivanovic during the entire tournament. This marked Janković's fourth defeat in four career Grand Slam semifinals. She would have become the world no. 1 had she reached the final. However, she did reach a new career-high of world no. 2 in the week following the tournament.
At Wimbledon, Janković injured her knee during her third-round match against Caroline Wozniacki.[14] Although she won that match, it visibly hindered her during her fourth-round loss to Tamarine Tanasugarn. Janković would have become the world no. 1 had she reached the semifinals of the tournament.[15] However, she lost to Tamarine Tanasugarn in the fourth round. Janković squandered two further opportunities to immediately take the world no. 1 position with losses in the semifinals of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles[16] to Dinara Safina and the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, to Dominika Cibulková. Janković did eventually replace Ivanovic as the world no. 1 on August 11, 2008.[17] She was the 18th woman to have been ranked world no. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association, but the first woman to have done so without ever having reached a Grand Slam final and only the third woman (the others being Amélie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters) to have become world no. 1 without first winning a Grand Slam title.[18][19]
Janković's reign as the world no. 1 lasted only one week, after she lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics to eventual silver-medalist Safina. This meant Ivanovic reclaimed the world no. 1 position. Janković was the second seed at the US Open, where she defeated Olympic gold-medalist Elena Dementieva in the semifinals to reach her first Grand Slam final. There, she lost to fourth-seeded Serena Williams. Janković would have reclaimed the world no. 1 position if she had won the event.
Janković became the world no. 1 again during the fall in the midst of winning three consecutive tournaments. At the China Open, Janković defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in two sets to win the title. The following week, Janković played in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, where she defeated Venus Williams in the semifinals and Nadia Petrova in the final. In the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Janković defeated defending champion Dementieva in the semifinals before triumphing against Vera Zvonareva in the final for her third title in three weeks, the first time for a player on the WTA tour to do so since 2005.[20] As the top seed at the year-end 2008 WTA Tour Championships held in Doha, Qatar, Janković won two of her three round-robin matches, including only the second win of her career over Ivanovic. However, she lost in the semifinals, to eventual champion Venus Williams and ended the year as world no. 1. In all, Janković lost to eventual champions at six tournaments (including three Grand Slam tournaments) during the season. Janković was later named the ITF World Champion for her performance in 2008.[21] She won four titles during the season, the most of anyone on the tour along with Serena Williams and Safina.
The Olympic Committee of Serbia declared her the best sportswoman for the second year in a row.
2009 [edit]
Janković started the year at the JB Group Classic, an exhibition prior to the Australian Open. She was the top seed of Team Europe. She started by winning a doubles match in which she was paired with Portuguese player Michelle Larcher de Brito. The team defeated Team Americas world no. 6 Venus Williams and newcomer to the women's tour, Coco Vandeweghe. Janković then lost to Williams in singles. Janković later withdrew from the remainder of the tournament because of illness.
Janković was seeded first at the Australian Open in Melbourne. She shockingly lost to 16th-seeded Marion Bartoli in the fourth round. Bartoli hit 34 winners, compared to Janković's 17 and won 81 percent of her first serve points, compared to Janković's 56 percent.[22] Janković lost her World No. 1 ranking to Serena Williams as a result.
Her next Women's Tennis Association event was the Open GDF Suez tournament in Paris, where she entered as a wildcard and was the second-seeded player. In the first round, Janković beat Francesca Schiavone, and in the second round, she beat Li Na. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Alizé Cornet but then lost to Amélie Mauresmo in the semifinals.
Janković had a first-round bye at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded third. She was upset by Kaia Kanepi in the third round in straight sets, in what she called "the worst match of my career."[23] She was the second-seeded player at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, a Premier Mandatory tournament. She received a bye in the first round, before losing in the second round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. After the match, she conceded that she has been struggling with her confidence, saying "I need a lot of work."[24] Janković then lost in the second round of the next Premier Mandatory tournament, the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, to Gisela Dulko after Janković failed to hold leads of 5–2 in the second set and 5–2 in the tiebreaker.[25]
Beginning her spring clay-court season at the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella, Spain, Janković defeated fifth-seeded Spaniard Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets for her first title of 2009.
Jelena Janković won the third point for Serbia in the Fed Cup play-offs against Spain, which meant that the national team played in the 2010 edition of Fed Cup World Group. Jelena beat Anabel Medina Garrigues in Lleida to bring the Serbian team a first-ever chance to compete among the world's top-tier women's tennis teams next year. The previous day, Janković and Ana Ivanovic had won their single matches.
Janković was the defending champion at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Seeded third, she lost in the quarterfinals to Flavia Pennetta in three sets. Janković was also the defending champion at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova. Seeded fourth at the inaugural Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, she advanced to the quarterfinals once again, but was defeated by Patty Schnyder.
Seeded fifth at the French Open, she lost to Sorana Cîrstea of Romania in the fourth round despite serving for the match in the third set at 5–4.
In her first match on grass at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, third-seeded Janković lost in the first round to Russian Anna Chakvetadze. Janković was seeded sixth at Wimbledon. She defeated Julia Görges, having trailed 5–2 in the first set. Janković then beat Iveta Benešová in the second round, but lost to qualifier Melanie Oudin in the third round.
At the Bank of the West Classic in California, Janković lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Marion Bartoli, despite having two match points. In her next tournament at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati, Janković defeated Victoria Azarenka to advance to the quarterfinals, where she disposed of Sybille Bammer. In the semifinals, Janković defeated Elena Dementieva in three tough sets, in a match that lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes, saving four match points on her way to victory. In the final, Janković won her second title of the year, defeating world no. 1 Dinara Safina. With the win, her ranking also went back to world no. 4.
Despite her good form leading up to the 2009 US Open, Janković's inconsistency continued, as she suffered a shock second-round defeat to Yaroslava Shvedova despite having match points in the third-set tie-break. Her ranking went down to world no. 8.
At the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open seeded seventh, Janković defeated Sabine Lisicki and Elena Vesnina in the second and third round, respectively, after receiving a first-round bye. She defeated Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals and Li Na in the semifinals. She faced Maria Sharapova in the final and retired while behind 5–2 because of an arm injury. Because of her semifinal appearance, Janković received a first-round bye in Beijing. She lost her opening match to home favorite Peng Shuai.
Her next tournament was Moscow, where she was seeded second. This tournament was her last chance to qualify for Doha. She was in a battle for the last available spot at Doha, along with Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwańska. However, things worked in her favor, as both Zvonareva and Radwańska fell in their early rounds, making Janković the last player to qualify for Doha. Janković lost her first match to Azarenka but bounced back defeating Safina and Wozniacki to clinch the first berth in her group. In her second year-end championship semifinal she lost to Venus Williams in three sets. She ended the year ranked no. 8 and with a 46–19 record.
2010 [edit]
Janković started the 2010 season in Sydney. She lost in the first round to Ágnes Szávay, having been seeded seventh for the tournament. During the Australian Open, Janković, seeded eighth, defeated opponents Monica Niculescu and Katie O'Brien in straight sets, before losing to 31st seed Alona Bondarenko in the third round.
Next, Janković represented Serbia in the 2010 Fed Cup. In her first match, she rallied from 4–6, 1–4 down to defeat Alisa Kleybanova. In her next Fed Cup match, she defeated reigning French Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. In the deciding doubles match, she partnered with Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic and Janković fell to Kuznetsova and Kleybanova. Her next scheduled tournament was the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships where she lost to Vera Zvonareva in the third round, causing her ranking to fall to no. 9 in the world.
Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Monterrey Open, where she was the top seed. She fell in the first round. Next, she traveled to Indian Wells, California for the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. At the tournament, she was seeded sixth and defeated Caroline Wozniacki to take her 12th title. Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded seventh. In the fourth round, she lost to Samantha Stosur, ending her eight-match winning streak. Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Family Circle Cup, where she was seeded second. She lost in the quarterfinals to Daniela Hantuchová.
At the Fed Cup qualifying, Janković defeated Slovakia's Magdaléna Rybáriková in her first singles match, but fell to Hantuchová in her second. Janković and Bojana Jovanovski then fell to Rybáriková and Hantuchová in the deciding doubles match.
Janković was the fourth seed at the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She lost against Justine Henin in the quarterfinals for the tenth time in a row.
Janković was the seventh seed at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. In the quarterfinals, she defeated fourth seed Venus Williams, 6–0, 6–1, with Williams suffering her heaviest loss in her career, having never won fewer than two games in a match. She then beat reigning world no. 1 Serena Williams in the semifinals, after saving a match point and later being down 5–2 in the final set tie-breaker. As a result of defeating these two opponents, she became one of the few women to defeat both Williams sisters in the same tournament and the first player who beat both sisters in less than 24 hours in one tournament. However, she was then shocked by unseeded María José Martínez Sánchez and lost in the final. Nevertheless, her ranking increased to world no. 4.
Seeded seventh, Janković received a first-round bye at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open and where she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Aravane Rezaï.
Janković's next tournament was 2010 French Open, where she was seeded fourth. She lost in the semifinals to Samantha Stosur. Two weeks later, her ranking increased to world no. 3.
Janković then played in the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where she was seeded fourth. Struggling with injuries, Janković retired trailing 21st seed and eventual finalist Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round. Although she retired in the fourth round, her ranking increased to world no. 2.
Janković defeated fellow Serb Bojana Jovanovski in the first round of the 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open, but had to retire in her next match against Anastasiya Yakimova due to twisting her ankle.
She then traveled to San Diego to play in the 2010 Southern California Open, where she was the top seed. Due to her seeding, she received a bye to the second round, but fell to Russia's Alisa Kleybanova.
Janković then traveled to Cincinnati for the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, where she was the top seed and defending champion. . In the third round, Janković failed to defend her title, as she had was upset by Akgul Amanmuradova. This caused her ranking to fall to world no. 3. Janković then entered the 2010 Rogers Cup as the top seed. After receiving a bye in the first round, she was upset by Iveta Benešová in the second round. Due to her early exit, her ranking dropped to no. 5.
Janković then traveled to New York to play in the 2010 US Open, where she was seeded fourth. She was defeated by Kaia Kanepi in the third round. Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open, where was seeded third and was the runner-up the previous year. In the third round, she lost for the second straight time to Kaia Kanepi. She then traveled to China to play in the 2010 China Open, where she was seeded third where she fell in the third round against fellow Serbian player Bojana Jovanovski in three sets.
Despite her recent slump, Janković still qualified for the 2010 WTA Tour Championships as the sixth seed. Her next tournament was the 2010 Kremlin Cup, where she was the top seed. Due to her seeding, she received a bye to the second round, where her bad form continued as she fell to Kazakhstani qualifier Zarina Diyas.
Janković's final event of the year was the 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she qualified for the fourth consecutive year, as the sixth seed. She was placed in the White Group, consisting of second seed Vera Zvonareva, third seed Kim Clijsters, and eighth seed Victoria Azarenka. After losing her opening match to Zvonareva, Janković reportedly collapsed in the locker room. She was advised to go to hospital, but refused and came out to play Clijsters the next day and lost the match. Janković's time in Doha came to an end when she lost her third and final group match to Azerenka. This loss, again in straight sets, meant that she had lost her last 10 sets of tennis played, bring an end to her 2010 season.
On November 30, Janković played a humanitarian match in Pionir Hall. Revenue from tickets was intended to help elementary school in Kraljevo damaged by an earthquake.
2011 [edit]
At the start of the year, Janković announced her decision to work with Andrei Pavel on a trial basis.[26]
She began 2011 by falling in the first round to France's Aravane Rezaï in three sets at the Medibank International Sydney. Her poor form continued at the Australian Open, losing in the second round against Shuai Peng after defeating the Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round.
Despite a dismal start to the season, Janković reached the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, beating Kaia Kanepi and fourth seed Samantha Stosur. However, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinal despite having a 4–0 head-to-head against her, as well as having four set points in the first set. She attributed the defeat to tiredness.
Up next for Janković was the Qatar Ladies Open. She reached the semifinals again, losing to Vera Zvonareva in three sets. The Russian had then beaten the Serb in their last five meetings. She then reached the final of the Monterrey Open, where she was defeated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova despite being up a set. Indian Wells Masters was next for Janković, where she was the defending champion. She was defeated by Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round.
Janković's next tournament was the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where she was the sixth seed. She lost to Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals.
Janković's next tournament was Family Circle Cup in Charleston where she lost in the semifinals to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.
She then played in the Fed Cup against Slovakia. She appeared on Sunday's singles match against Daniela Hantuchová, which she won despite being down 3–1 in the third set. Later on, she won an epic doubles match with Aleksandra Krunić against Daniela Hantuchová and Magdaléna Rybáriková while saving three match points. With this, Serbia was placed in World Group I again.
Her next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She was seeded seventh and was defeated in the second round by Germany's Andrea Petkovic. Next up for Janković was the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. She lost to Lucie Šafářová in the second round.
At 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Janković lost to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals for the third time in a row. Her ranking dropped to no. 10, the lowest it had been since the beginning of 2007.
Her next tournament was the Brussels Ladies Open where she lost in the second round to Sofia Arvidsson.
Janković was the tenth seed at the 2011 French Open. In the fourth round, Janković fell to fifth seed and defending champion Francesca Schiavone. As a result, she dropped out of top 10 for the first time since early 2007, with her position being no. 15.
Janković was the 15th seed at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, but lost to María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round,[27] her first opening-round exit in a Grand Slam since the 2005 French Open.
Her next tournament was 2011 Rogers Cup, where she fell in the first round to Julia Georges.
Janković was seeded 13th at the 2011 Western & Southern Open, where she lost in the final to Maria Sharapova in three sets.
She reached the third round at the US Open, losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Generali Ladies Linz tournament, falling to Petra Kvitová.
2012 [edit]
Janković began 2012 at the Brisbane International as the 6th seed. After winning her opening two matches comfortably, she lost to Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals. She then lost in the second round of the Apia International to 3rd seed Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. At the 2012 Australian Open Janković was the 13th seed. She was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round. She then teamed up with Australian Bernard Tomic in the mixed doubles, losing in the second round.
Janković pulled out in Paris due to injury. Janković next played the 2012 Qatar Total Open where she received a bye into the 2nd round. She was beaten by Peer. She next played the Dubai Duty Free Open and advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set. In the semifinal though she was beaten by the in form Agnieszka Radwańska. She then received a wildcard to play in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the 2nd seed. She won through to the semifinals before losing to 5th seed Petra Martić in three tough sets.
Janković then kicked off the American hard court season in spring by starting off in Indian Wells. She received a bye into the second round, but was upset by American Jamie Hampton. Next up in Miami, she again lost in the same stage to up and coming German player Mona Barthel very comfortably in two sets. Janković then concluded her American season by playing in the South Carolina Open in Charleston, receiving a bye as the 7th seed, but continuing her losing streak by going out to another former no.1, resurgent Venus Williams, despite serving for the opening set.
Janković started her European season by playing in the E-boks Sony Ericsson Open in Copenhagen as the 3rd seed. She was defeated in the semifinals by 2nd seed Angelique Kerber. In the Fed Cup semifinals against Russia in Moscow, Janković defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, both in straight sets, to propel Serbia to the Fed Cup final for the first time to verse the Czech Republic, with an aid from Ana Ivanovic who defeated Pavlyuchenkova.
Opening her clay court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Pix in Stuttgart, Janković retired against 6th seed Caroline Wozniacki in her opening match. She then lost in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open to unseeded Carla Suárez Navarro, and the opening round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia to Sorana Cîrstea. Janković's terrible run continued with a first round loss in Brussels to Simona Halep, and a second round loss at the French Open to young American Varvara Lepchenko.
Janković turned her fortunes around by reaching the finals of Aegon Classic 2012, losing to Melanie Oudin.[28] However, she lost in the opening round of Wimbledon to unseeded former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters. It was the second year in a row that Janković lost in the opening round of Wimbledon.
Janković lost in the opening round of the Olympic tennis tournament to eventual Gold Medallist Serena Williams.[29]
Janković reached the third round of the 2012 US Open, but she was defeated by second seed Agnieszka Radwańska. This brought her record against Radwańska to 1–3.
2013 [edit]
Janković started her 2013 season at the Sydney International, losing to Roberta Vinci in the second round. At the Australian Open, after wins over Johanna Larsson and Maria João Koehler in the first two rounds, Janković lost in the third round to compatriot and former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.[30]
In February, Janković won her first title in three years at Bogotá, defeating Paula Ormaechea in straight sets to win the final.[31]
Janković made an early exit from Indian Wells the following week, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round. However, she managed to reach the semi-finals at Miami, losing to Maria Sharapova in straight sets. The run in Miami returned Janković to the world's Top 20 for the first time in almost one year.[32]
Janković then reached the final of the Family Circle Cup, losing there to defending champion and World No. 1 Serena Williams. At Stuttgart, Janković upset sixth seed Samantha Stosur in the first round, before losing to Sabine Lisicki in the second.
Rivalries [edit]
Janković vs. Ivanovic [edit]
One of the most prominent rivalries in women's tennis is the one between Janković and fellow Fed Cup team-mate and Serbian compatriot Ana Ivanovic.[33] They have met eleven times, with Ivanovic leading 8–3 overall.[34] Six of their eleven meetings have come at important stages of tournaments, whilst two have come at Grand Slam tournaments; Janković trails in both categories 1–5 and 0–2 respectively. Both players were touted as future top players following their breakthrough in 2007 and 2008, however, both have since underperformed on the WTA Tour and dropped out of the Top 10 in contrasting circumstances.[35][36] Matches between Janković and Ivanovic are given the nickname "The Battle of Serbia".[37][38] Since the end of 2008, the dominance of both players have diminished; both have only reached the quarter-finals (or better) at Grand Slam tournaments just once each: Janković at the 2010 French Open and Ivanovic at last year's US Open.[39]
Their most important meeting to date was in the semi-finals of the 2008 French Open; the match was one of historic proportions as it would decide which of the two would become the first Serbian player, male or female, to gain the World No. 1 ranking.[40] In a match that lasted three sets and saw one player try to gain authority over the other, Ivanovic prevailed; the result saw Ivanovic claim the World No. 1 ranking for the first time, however Janković would herself claim the ranking later that year.
The pair were involved in a long-running feud in early 2010, arising from Ivanovic's decision not to play in Serbia's Fed Cup World Group play-off against Slovakia due to her poor form at the time.[41] They met in a controversial encounter at the Madrid Premier Mandatory tournament in May that year, in which Janković appeared to criticise and imitate Ivanovic's fist-pumping habit following a three-set victory.[42] It was only Janković's third (and last to date) victory against Ivanovic, after previously winning in 2006 and 2008.
At Indian Wells in 2011, Janković was the defending champion, but Ivanovic defeated her in the fourth round, ending her title defence.[43] That would be their last meeting in a WTA Tour match until the 2013 Australian Open, where Ivanovic prevailed in the third round.[30]
Janković vs. Zvonareva [edit]
Jelena Janković and Vera Zvonareva have met fourteen times with Zvonareva leading their head-to-head 8–6.[44] Their first meeting was in 2005 with Zvonareva winning a second round match in Rome.
They met six times in 2008 with Janković winning four of the six meetings, including three consecutive times in three consecutive tournaments during the fall. The third match in this streak was the final of the Kremlin Cup, which was the third consecutive title won by Janković in a stretch which also included titles in Beijing and Stuttgart.[45] Janković had defeated Zvonareva on her way to the two titles which preceded the Kremlin Cup. However, Zvonareva would defeat Janković at the WTA Tour Championships later that year; this would be the start of an ongoing five-match winning streak against Janković.
Their only meeting at a Grand Slam tournament was at Wimbledon in 2010, in the tournament's fourth round. The match was important as neither player had reached the quarter-finals of the grass court Major to that point. Zvonareva won through (and eventually went on to reach the final) after Janković retired whilst trailing in the second set.[46]
Their most recent meeting was at the Qatar Ladies Open in 2011 with Zvonareva winning in three sets. It was her fifth straight victory over Janković, dating back to 2008.[47]
Janković vs. Venus Williams [edit]
Jelena Janković and Venus Williams have met twelve times and each player has won six times. Janković leads 4–2 on clay courts and 1–0 on grass, whilst Williams leads 4–1 on hard. Their rivalry is one of the most competitive and even in women's tennis. Only three of their matches have been decided in straight sets: their first meeting in the quarter-finals of the 2005 East of the West Bank Classic, which Venus won 6–3 6–3; the second was in the quarter-finals of the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia which Janković won 6–0 6–1; this was the worst ever defeat in Venus Williams' entire career,[48] and their third and most recent meeting in the second round of the 2012 Family Circle Cup, which Venus won 7–5 6–0.
They have met three times in Grand Slams. Janković caused an upset at Wimbledon in 2006 where she defeated the defending champion in the third round, winning in three sets.[49][50] They met twice at the Majors in 2007, Janković winning at the French Open, and Williams winning at the US Open in 2007. Both matches required a third set.
They have also met twice at the WTA Tour Championships, both times in the semi-finals with Williams winning in three sets on both occasions.
Playing style [edit]
Jelena Janković is often regarded as a counterpuncher. Jelena is known for being able to slide effectively on all surfaces. Janković has very consistent groundstrokes and prefers to go down the line more often than crosscourt. Her weapon is her two-handed backhand. She also has a decent forehand and a fair net game, being able to hit effective drive, drop and swinging volleys. Her main weakness is her serve. She likes to spin it in on the first and second serve which can lead to her getting broken many times in matches. Her weakest surface is considered grass and her best surface is fast hard court where she can use her defense and speed to win matches.However, given the fact that six of her thirteen titles have come on clay, this could also be considered her best surface.
Personal life [edit]
Janković was the subject of the 2008 autobiographical documentary, Jelenin svet (Jelena's World),[51] featuring Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Elena Dementieva and other notable players.[51]
On December 5, 2007, Janković became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, for Children's Fund. "I am happy to have become a UNICEF ambassador for Serbia. This is a great honour for me and I will try to justify the role that has been given to me", she said. Janković is the second Serbian tennis star to have volunteered to help promote the rights of children and collect funds for UNICEF after Ana Ivanovic became an ambassador in September.
Endorsements [edit]
Janković is currently sponsored by Italian sportswear company Fila. Before Janković had endorsed Anta and Reebok sportswear, and had her own line with them for her tournament wear. Janković also has an endorsement with Prince Sports and now uses the Prince O3 Speedport Pro White Racquet after formerly using the Prince O3 Red Racquet. She now uses the Prince EXO3 Black.
Career statistics [edit]
Grand Slam finals [edit]
Singles: 1 (0–1) [edit]
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2008 | US Open | Hard |  Serena Williams |
6–4, 7–5 |
Mixed Doubles: 1 (1–0) [edit]
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2007 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Jamie Murray |
 Alicia Molik Jonas Björkman |
6–4, 3–6, 6–1 |
Grand Slam tournament record [edit]
Current through the 2013 Australian Open.[1]
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 4R | SF | 4R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 0 / 11 | 23–11 |
| French Open | A | A | A | LQ | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | SF | 4R | SF | 4R | 2R | 0 / 9 | 24–9 | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | LQ | 1R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 9 | 16–9 | |
| US Open | A | A | LQ | LQ | 2R | 3R | SF | QF | F | 2R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 9 | 25–9 | |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 5–4 | 11–4 | 15–4 | 19–4 | 9–4 | 12–4 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 2–1 | 0 / 38 | 88–38 |
Awards [edit]
 |
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (January 2012) |
- 1985 births
- Living people
- Serbian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates
- Serbian female tennis players
- Serbia and Montenegro female tennis players
- Sportspeople from Belgrade
- Olympic tennis players of Serbia and Montenegro
- Olympic tennis players of Serbia
- Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Wimbledon champions
- World No. 1 tennis players
- Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia
- Australian Open junior champions
- Hopman Cup competitors
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles
