Serbian top seed Jelena Jankovic denied American Vania King on two set points in the opening set, then won eight of the last 10 games to advance 7-5, 6-2 in the WTA hardcourt tournament in Carson, California on Wednesday.
Jankovic, ranked a career-best second in the world, improved to 4-0 against King and advanced to a third-round match yesterday against Hungary’s Melinda Czink, who defeated Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Jankovic, 23, won her sixth career title earlier this year in Rome and has reached the quarter-finals in 11 of 12 events this year.
PHOTO: AFP
A finalist here in 2006 and a semi-finalist last year before losing to countrywoman and eventual winner Ana Ivanovic, Jankovic hopes for another deep run as she prepares for next month’s US Open.
French Open champion Ivanovic, the world No. 1, is not defending her title.
Japan’s Ai Sugiyama upset Swiss seventh seed Patty Schnyder while Russian fourth seed Dinara Safina ousted China’s Peng Shuai in other second-round matches on Wednesday.
Safina won 6-2, 6-2 while Sugiyama subdued Schnyder 6-4, 7-5 and was due to face Italy’s Flavia Pennetta next, who beat Austrian Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Australian Samantha Stosur ousted Russia’s Regina Kulikova 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 to face eighth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who eliminated Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan 6-1, 6-3.
Chan had better luck in the doubles, teaming up with compatriot Chuang Chia-jung to earn a second round victory over Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, and Flavia Pennetta. The Taiwanese pair breezed through 6-1, 6-2.
British lucky loser Melanie South, who reached the draw when US second seed Serena Williams withdrew, defeated Czech Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-2 to earn a match against China’s Yuan Meng, who ousted India’s Sania Mirza 6-4, 6-3.
American Bethanie Mattek, who has improved her ranking almost 100 places since early April, took another step forward with a 6-4, 6-0 victory against 11th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic.
The 23-year-old Mattek was ranked 153rd in the WTA Tour rankings on April 7 after losing six of seven matches to open the season.
But she made it to the semi-finals of a grass-court tournament in England before losing to Serena Williams in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, moving her into 59th place.
Mattek’s win over Vaidisova was her ninth in 11 matches. Mattek’s third-round opponent yesterday was Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who upset No. 6 Daniela Hantuchova of on Tuesday.
Mattek said her turnaround has been primarily due to being physically fit and able to play more often and more consistently.
“I attribute a lot of it to my fitness level,” she said. “I think I’m in the best shape of my career right now. I’ve played a lot of matches and that’s made me mentally tough.”
“I’ve been able to fight my way through matches. I’ve stayed a lot healthier this year. Last year I’d win a match 7-6 in the third [set] and then be dead for the next match. Plus when you’re playing the top girls week in and week out you get a feel for their game,” Mattek said.
“It’s a lot faster, but you get used to that pace. I’ve had a great couple of months,” she said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their