Former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic begins her quest for redemption – and hopefully her first Grand Slam title – when she squares off with Polono Hercog in the opening round of the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Can Jankovic take care of business and avoid a second-straight first-round exit at Down Under? Or will Hercog pull off the improbable upset? Read on further for a closer look at this matchup.
[sc:AUS15-250 ]Former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic will be on a quest to redeem herself following a first-round exit in the 2015 Australian Open. It marked the very first time she failed to reach at least the second round in 12 career appearances at the Grand Slam.
The 30-year-old Serbian’s struggle for consistency could prove to be worrisome; however, her experience and accolades still make her a legitimate contender in this tournament.
Jankovic, who currently ranks 22nd in the world, has had her share of success at Melbourne Park. In 2008, she advanced to the semifinals after an impressive 6-3, 6-4 straight-sets triumph over Serena Williams in the previous round. But Jankovic lost to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.
Furthermore, Jankovic has played relatively well on hard surfaces. She enters this matchup having won nine of her last 13 matches on the hard court. That stretch includes wins over Venus Williams (World No. 10) and Angelique Kerber (No. 6) at the 2015 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, wherein Jankovic brought home her 15th WTA title.
It’s worth noting, though, that Jankovic and Polona Hercog will only be going mano-a-mano for just the second time in their careers. During their first encounter, it was Jankovic who emerged victorious in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) at the 2011 Monterrey Open.
Despite being the clear underdog in this match, Polona Hercog could actually use this as a source of motivation towards a shocking upset.
Hercog, the 27-year-old Slovenian, has made it to the Top 100 for the seventh-straight year despite a relatively quiet 2015 campaign. In that span, she was able to win 36 of her 65 total matches, which includes an appearance in the quarterfinals at Bad Gastein and a semifinals berth at Bucharest. Hercog has never made it past the second around at Melbourne, however.
Also, hard courts have not been kind to Hercog as she’s lost seven of her past 10 matches when playing on that surface. That being said, she’ll really need to be at her very best form in order to at least make things tough and interesting against a former World No.1 player like Jelena Jankovic.
