Top spot up for grabs in wild world of female tennis

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:26 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- An injury to Maria Sharapova and the retirement of Justine Henin figured to make the women's draw at the U.S. Open wide open and interesting. Following the upset of current world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, the intrigue is about to pick up even more.

A day after Ivanovic was stunned by 188th-ranked Julia Coin of France, possible successors were looking to move into contention for Ivanovic's spot.

First up was Jelena Jankovic, who needed over two hours to eventually defeat Zheng Jie of China, 7-5, 7-5, in a third-round match.

The score reflected what a struggle the win was as Jankovic made 41 unforced errors and failed on four match points in the second set. She finally secured the win when Zheng's forehand landed in the net.

Ivanovic, who is currently ranked No. 2, will face Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or Carolina Wozniacki of Denmark. She hopes that her next match lacks the drama of her last two wins.

"I wish I didn't have any drama in my matches," Jankovic said. "I wish I would win nice and in a simple way - just cruise through the match and that's it."

Elena Dementieva remained in contention for the top spot as she knocked off Anne Keothavong of England, 6-3, 6-4.

Dementieva will face Na Li of China and could have a quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who does not have a shot due to Ivanovic's first-round victory but still is lurking.

The scores and difficulty in eliminating opponents have little to do with who gets to be the top-ranked player. It all comes down to a complex series of scenarios outlined by the WTA.

Ivanovic still could maintain her top spot but will definitely lose it if Jankovic and Serena Williams advance to the semifinals, while a trip to the finals by Dinara Safina and Dementieva also could do it.

If none of those scenarios occur, Ivanovic would still retain her ranking when the next rankings are released on September 8.

However, there are still other permutations that could alter the rankings.

If Williams and Jankovic meet for the title, the winner becomes No. 1. If Jankovic advances to the finals and Williams does not get past the semifinals, Jankovic would not have to win to remain No. 1.

If Dementieva wins, she would become No. 1 and the third player to win a gold medal and the U.S. Open since tennis resumed as a full medal sport in Seoul two decades ago. She is in the same half of the bracket as Williams and could meet her in the finals, which would determine the top spot.

Safina's chances of becoming No. 1 are contingent on her winning the singles title and only if Jankovic does not make it past the semifinals.

She has advanced to a third-round encounter with Timea Bacsinszky on Saturday with straight-sets victories over American Kristie Ahn and Italy's Roberta Vinci. Safina has advanced past the third round in three of her previous six appearances here and made it to the quarterfinals two years ago before losing to then top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo.

The upset of Ivanovic has eliminated a potential quarterfinal encounter, but Safina could still wind up with a rematch against Mauresmo, who will face Coin on Saturday.

Williams will attempt to move on Saturday against Ai Sugiyama of Japan and, if her side of the draw holds form, the fourth-seeded American star could have a quarterfinal match with sister Venus Williams.

"I think that's pretty much dominance," Serena said of potentially being No.1. "I feel honored they would say that. It makes me want to work harder and do better."