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Jankovic and Ivanovic advance


World No.1 and top seed at the Australian Open Jelena Jankovic began her campaign for a first grand slam title in style on Monday as she crushed Austrias Yvonne Meusberger 6-1, 6-3 in the first round at Melbourne Park.

The Austrian managed to win only six points in the first set; she stepped things up in the second set but failed to convert any of her 12 break points.

“I lost my concentration a little bit in the second set but I’m very happy to get through,” Jelena Jankovic said. “It’s all right. It comes back with playing matches and I haven’t played for about two months. It’s a good start to the tournament.”

Fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic, who won her first major at Roland Garros in 2008, has been struggling since Wimbledon but managed to steer herself to victory over Julia Goerges of Germany.

Ivanovic, last year’s runner-up in Melbourne, struggled with her serve and groundstrokes but eventually came through 7-5, 6-3.

“I’m very pleased to have a victory today, obviously,” Ivanovic said. “In the beginning it took some time to adjust, because I’d never played against her before.

“She’s a very young, talented girl. She was hitting the ball very well. It was a very, very close first set, and I’m happy I took the chances I had.

“The second set doesn’t seem as close but there were lots of games with deuce and advantage. I really had to keep my composure at the important moments.”

Ivanovic faces Alberta Brianti of Italy next, while Jankovic plays Belguims Kirsten Flipkens.

Elsewhere in the draw, there were no real upsets. Big names Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva won their openers in straight sets. Third-seeded Safina ousted fellow countrywoman Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-3, 6-4, while seventh seed Zvonareva got past rising star Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6, 6-0.

All of the other top 16 seeds in action also progressed. Tenth seed Nadia Petrova beat Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3, 7-6; 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki beat Shahar Peer, 6-3, 6-2; and 15th seed Aliz


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.