Jelena Jankovic Profile

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia plays a forehand during her third round match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on day five of the Australian Open 2007 Despite having to battle against her own temperament, Jankovic has taken on and consistently beaten some of the biggest champions in women's tennis, including Amelie Mauresmo, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters.

Nevertheless, Jankovic has failed to convert her talent into success in grand slams, a fact illustrated by a brief glance at her grand slam record:

  • Jankovic was defeated by Jill Craybas in the second round of the Australian Open 2004
  • At the 2006 French Open Jankovic caused an upset by defeating seeded Marion Bartoli, before succumbing to world no. 1, Amelie Mauresmo
  • At Wimbledon in 2006, Jankovic stunned the crowd by defeating defending champion, Venus Williams in the 3rd round
  • The Serb reached the semifinals of the 2006 US Open with defeats over Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva. She was subsequently beaten in the semifinals by Justine Henin
  • She made it to the 4th round of the 2007 Australian Open, before succumbing to eventual champion, Serena Williams

Besides her failure to win a grand slam Jelena Jankovic has more than impressed - her meteoric rise in the rankings speaks volumes of her enormous potential. Like Justine Henin, she is incredibly ambitious, but will need to overcome a serious slump during the course of the 2009 tennis season to attain her true potential as a grand slam winner.