BEIJING (AP) — Eighth-seeded Jelena Jankovic rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia on Monday to advance to the second round of the China Open.
Former No. 1-ranked Jankovic had lost three of her four previous matches against Pavlyuchenkova. After a poor opening set, the Serb earned three service breaks in each of the next two sets.
Jankovic’s compatriots, Ana Ivanovic and Bojana Jovanovski, joined her in the second round with straight-set victories.
Ivanovic downed Flavia Pennetta 7-6 (9), 6-1, while Jovanovski beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2.
In the doubles, wildcard entrants Serena and Venus Williams wasted chances to win before losing 6-7 (3), 6-4, 11-9 to Liezel Huber and Chan Hao-ching.
In the men’s draw, Australia’s Bernard Tomic opened with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over China’s Zheng Ze.
