The Serbian Jelena Jankovic has finally come back to her game. She won her second title of the season and the tenth in her professional career at the Cincinnati Open on Sunday, defeating world number 1 Dinara Safina in an hour and 25 minutes with a score of 6-4, 6-2.
Jankovic had struggled in the first half of the season; she changed her training regimen, her mother became ill, and Jankovic’s game suffered. She dropped from world number 1 last year to number 5 this year. She lost her confidence.
This victory, however, brought a return of confidence for the Serb, as well as great preparation for the upcoming US Open. The win also means a 3-3 overall against Safina; Jankovic had lost to the Russian in last year’s Beijing Olympics.
Before her meeting with Safina in the final, Jankovic had had a difficult semifinal against Elena Dementieva. The match lasted for two hours and 46 minutes, taking three sets with 7-6, 0-6, 7-6. The demanding semifinal did not bode well for the Serb.
Once in the final, however, Jankovic breezed through for a victory. Both players began with aggressive play. Even though Safina was fresher – Jankovic had played Dementieva the night before and enjoyed little rest – Jankovic played a better game. During the first set, Jankovic committed few mistakes, ending with only 9 unforced errors and breaking her opponent’s serve to win the first set 6-4.
Jankovic only improved in the second set. She was even more consistent, breaking Safina’s serve in both the first and the third games, obtaining a 3-0 lead. Safina tried to retaliate but her inconsistency and lack of concentration allowed the Serb to dictate the match, and Jankovic won the second set 6-2.
Jankovic raised her arms in triumph, celebrating her second title of the year by kissing her father and dedicating the victory to her mother, who is recovering from surgery.
The disappointment was evident in Safina’s face, who acknowledged that she did not play at her best. “I think I was a bit off today,” the world no.1 said.
Jankovic, on the other hand, expressed her satisfaction at playing well for the entire week and regaining her confidence after a bad start this season.
"It's a good win for me, I'm happy that I'm back. I'm really pleased that I was able to play well today and beat the top player in the world. I got quite a few good wins under my belt this week, which is very good for my confidence coming into the U.S. Open. I'm back in this group of (top) players and hopefully I can keep my form up. I'm positive. I'm out there with a smile on my face, and I bring some, how do you say, interesting things into tennis again,” said the former world No.1.
With this victory, Jelena Jankovic climbs up in the rankings from world No.5 to world No.4. She is back at the top again. She will next play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada, in preparation for the US Open.