Jankovic advances; Davenport ousted at U.S. Open

Aug 30, 2008 - 4:35 AM FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Jelena Jankovic took another step in her quest for a first Grand Slam title.

The second-seeded Jankovic advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open thanks to a 7-5, 7-5 victory over China's Jie Zheng on Friday.

The 1998 U.S. Open champion, No. 23 Lindsay Davenport of the United States did not fare as well, dropping a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) decision to 12th-ranked Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

Despite her success here years ago, Davenport is not living in the past and has come to terms with her current level of play.

"I kind of feel that was so long ago," she said. "Obviously, it's the same court and it's the same tournament, but it was a different era in tennis almost. I think 10 years later, you don't really have that advantage under your belt.

"Obviously, the player that won it last year or year before probably has a certain confidence. I think, after 10 years, it's kind of expired."

The 32-year-old Davenport missed this hardcourt event last year due to a pregnancy but had made it to at least the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open each of the previous 10 years. That streak was snapped by Bartoli, who has yet to lose a set here this week.

"I just never felt comfortable out there," Davenport said. "And then I was trying so hard to get back in the second, was able to do that, and then played one of the worst games of my career at five-all."

Bartoli, for her part, has had her best showing at a Grand Slam event this year. She was upset in the first round of both the Australian and French Opens and suffered a third-round exit at Wimbledon.

"I think I was in better shape than her," Bartoli said of Davenport. "If Lindsay is not going to give me the match, I have to take it from her, so if it takes three sets, it takes three sets. I was ready for three anyway."

While Jankovic and Bartoli advanced, third-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by Katarina Srebotnik of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-7 (7-1), 6-3.

"I think (Srebotnik) served better than I did," Kuznetsova said. "She served so many aces, and I was not able to. I had possibility and I had many chances, especially the first set, but somehow I overdo it, and some moments I didn't take advantage of her second serve and I was doing mistakes."

The setback for Kuznetsova may have opened the door for Jankovic.

The top remaining seed in this hardcourt major, Jankovic has failed to advance beyond the semifinals in her first 20 career Grand Slam appearances.

But the Serb capitalized on some sloppy play by Zheng to reach the fourth round here for the third straight year.

One day after top-seeded countrywoman Ana Ivanovic was ousted, Jankovic avoided the upset bug against Zheng, who committed 41 unforced errors in a match that lasted 2 hours, 9 minutes.

After squandering four match points and saving seven break points in the 12th game of the second set, Jankovic finally secured the victory when Zheng fired a forehand shot into the net.

"I went to a third set the other match in my second round, so I didn't want to do that," Jankovic said. "I was a little bit frustrated with myself. In the first set, I was serving well and holding my serves and doing quite well.

"Then in the second set, I don't know what happened. I just lost my rhythm. Throughout the whole match, I had a really bad percentage of first serves and mainly playing with second serves, which obviously doesn't help."

Coming off her gold-medal winning performance at the Beijing Olympics, Elena Dementieva of Russia secured her spot in the fourth round by defeating Anne Keothavong of Great Britain, 6-3, 6-4.

Dementieva converted 6-of-10 break points and was aided by 38 unforced errors by Keothavong, who also connected on just 57 percent of her first serves.

"I'm obviously disappointed, but I felt that I had opportunities," Keothavong said. "I just felt I hit too many errors on routine points, routine shots.

"But I think overall, it's been a good week for me. She's the Olympic gold medalist. She's one of the favorites for this tournament. But just for myself, I just feel like I could have done a better job."

Up next for Dementieva is a fourth-round match against China's Na Li, who on Thursday defeated Russian Ekaterina Makarova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

"I'm sure the match against Li will be a tough one," Dementieva said. "And it will be tough for both of us, because we've played against each other a year ago, and it was really very close match."

In a mild upset, 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus fell to No. 21 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6-4, 6-4.

Seeded winners included No. 15 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who eliminated Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, and No. 29 Sybille Bammer of Austria, who easily ousted the Ukraine's Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-3, 6-0.