Snezana’s Daughter is Almost There

This article is part of On the Baseline’s 2009 Players to Watch Series. Please join us during the next three weeks for a look at several rising and resurgent stars on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

The WTA computer says that she’s #1, but even those of us who appreciate the whirling Serbian dervish named Jelena Jankovic for what she IS would more than likely concede that she probably isn’t the “most talented” player on tour.

But her ability to win people over IS growing. After fighting against Jankovic’s lure all season long, by the end of ’08 some “converts” stopped pooh-poohing her for what she ISN’T and began to commend her heart, smarts and tour-leading consistency… even if they seemed to do so through gritted teeth.

Truth be told, I didn’t realize that Jankovic was as good as she’s managed to become. That’s not condemning her with faint praise, either. A year ago, I’d have said that the best she would ever likely do at a slam was get “close,” and she’d never win one. A year later, there’s a sense that she HAS to become a slam champion in due order.

Why?

Well, quite frankly, Justine Henin retired and, perhaps not coincidentally, Jankovic began to bloom in the vacuum her exit produced. After having gone 0-9 against the Belgian during her career, the Serb won the first WTA tour event — in Rome — contested in the wake of Henin’s departure. Fortified more than any other player by the subtraction of her extraordinary adversary, Jankovic was given new life… and hope.

A month later, she reached the Roland Garros semifinals and played countrywoman Ana Ivanovic for the #1 ranking. She failed to seize it then, as well as a few other times, before finally backdooring the top ranking by rising into the spot after the “bye” week preceding the Olympics.

She only held the ranking for seven days, but her appetite was sufficiently whetted.

Late last summer in New York, something about Jankovic was fundamentally transformed. Maybe it was the craving for the #1 spotlight she’d briefly enjoyed, or simply the deliberate result of a great deal of work and sweat that did it. Whatever it was, Jankovic came to NYC not in top shape after missing training time following a Wimbledon knee injury, with her game a bit ragged.

But after gutting out a few early matches, “New York Jelena” started to believe… and continued to win, all the way to her first slam final. There, against Serena Williams, even in defeat, she put up such a grand fight that a “light” seemed to go off in her head. She finally realized she COULD win a grand slam.

Her Open adventure certified Jankovic’s big stage pedigree and nerve. After that, everything changed.

In the final months of the season, the experience served her well. There, the chaotic sister from another planet started walking, talking and acting like a true #1 player. Dare I say it, there was something more “professional” about her entire process, on and off court. Oh, the loopy side stories were still there, but they didn’t distract or define her. THIS Jankovic, while still maintaining her quirky appeal, had a different mindset.

Players were said to whisper that she’d developed something of an “intimidation factor” while running off three straight titles in a three-week span to secure the year-end #1 ranking.

While Jankovic’s #1 credentials were strengthened by her late-season upswing, there’s still a huge hole in her career resume.

For all that the Divine Miss J did in 2008, she still needs to win a grand slam title to convince many that she’s truly earned her position rather than simply inherited it. It’s essential she pick up some heavy-duty hardware to prove her worth to a sometimes-skeptical public that seems to prefer its #1′s either American, blond or fully-sponsored.

Thus, for the player whose smile launched a thousand stories, and a few sneers, 2009 will be about R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

An ever-improving serve, more in-point aggression and a welcome ability to construct a point, all of which the athletic Jankovic utilized so well in ’08, will certainly further help her sharpen her game’s teeth as long as she stays focused and healthy. With so much to prove, she’ll never be faced with as much pressure of expectation as she will in the upcoming campaign.

But will Jankovic REALLY win a slam in 2009?

I truly think so, but you never know. We ARE talking about Jankovic, after all. Even if she doesn’t check “win a grand slam title” off her career “To Do” list sometime over the next nine months, at worst, the journey will be Oscar-worthy. Jelena being Jelena, and no player on earth enjoys being herself on the court more than this particular drama-loving Serb, is worth the price of admission on its own unique merit.

Snezana’s daughter is almost there. Living in the moment. Striving, per chance to dream… bigger than ever.

Todd Spiker resides in the Washington, D.C. area, and reviews the women’s tour every week at WTA Backspin (www.wtabackspin.blogspot.com). His opinions on the men’s tour can be found at ATP Backspin (www.atpbackspin.blogspot.com).