INDIAN WELLS, California—It has been a long seven months since Jelena Jankovic appeared in a final on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and the wry Serbian would certainly be inclined to agree that Sunday has been a long time coming.
Jankovic skyrocketed to the top of the women’s game in 2008 when she overtook her countrywoman for the number one ranking. Oddly, in recent months, the Tour’s top spot has often been a kiss of death for players without the experience of nearly everyone in the world not named Serena Williams.
Ivanovic was almost relieved to hand it over to Jankovic as the pressure of being the hunted instead of the hunter messed with her head and her tennis game. Jankovic managed to hold onto the ranking for one week longer than Ivanovic did, but quickly discovered that without a Grand Slam title to validate her success, the ranking was merely just a number in the minds of her critics.
Jankovic won three tournaments in a row in 2008 to secure the season-ending top spot, but gave back the number one ranking immediately following the Australian Open after losing in the fourth round to Marion Bartoli. She started the year out at No. 1, only to finish at No. 8. Mild fluctuation is normal among the Top 10, but definitely not as extreme.
Jelena blamed it on her decision to bulk up and get fitter during the 2008 offseason; others believe it was because of her insane schedule of trying to play twenty-one events in one season.
Regardless of the cause, it quickly became clear: the former world number one was stuck in a slump. Truth be told, things didn’t look optimistic at the start of this season for Jankovic. She lost her first match in Sydney to Agnes Szavay, a player barely ranked inside the Top 40. She had a better showing the following week in Melbourne, but still won just five games against Alona Bondarenko in the third round.
But now, just when folks were starting to write Jankovic off for good, she’s back. Not only is her game back, but her trademark smile’s returned as well. She looks relaxed, confident and is thrilled to be back in a final.
“I’m feeling good going to the finals,” Jankovic said on Friday. “You know, I had some tough matches here and some good wins. So, yeah, I’m just gonna try my best, and we’ll see what happens. Maybe I can win another title.”
When asked if her reduced schedule and improved fitness has attributed to her rebound, she agreed.
“I feel fit,” concurred Jankovic. “I feel ready to play. I have less weight than I had before, and I’m moving well. I have no injuries.”
No injuries is a big improvement for Jelena, who frequently has to call for a trainer’s assistance during her matches.
Although she is back in the final, she needs to go one step further to officially reclaim her position as a title contender at major events. Standing in Jankovic’s way is second seed and rapidly rising star Caroline Wozniacki.
Wozniacki’s form has improved match by match over the past several days in the desert and she hit her groove last night against her good friend Agnieszka Radwanska. The match quickly turned into a blowout as Wozniacki’s aggression kept Radwanska off balance from the early stage of the match. Like Jankovic, she advanced to her first BNP Paribas Open final in straight sets.
Wozniacki knows that she’ll be facing an experienced professional in the form of Jelena Jankovic on Sunday. Jankovic might still be missing that elusive Slam from her resume, but she does know what it will take to win the title in Indian Wells.
“Caroline I played last time in Doha, and I won in two sets,” Jankovic said Friday. “I think I never lost to Caroline before.”
“But I’m just going to go out there and play my tennis. I know I can do well. I just have to stay focused and do what I do best.”
Caroline knows that a win on Sunday will not be easy, but is confident that she will be able to do her best.
“I haven’t won against Jelena yet,” Caroline said on Friday. “She’s a great player, a former No. 1. She’s had a good tournament here, as well. It’s going be a tough match.”
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In a lot of ways this is a dream final. Two players with star power, and both are playing great tennis. Let’s hope the wind stays away.
That’s a good point, Chris. It’s been pretty windy out here for the past few days, so it’ll be interesting to see how that impacts today’s final.
Last year, it was terrible and played havoc on Ivanovic’s toss. If the conditions are similar, I favor Caroline’s chances of being able to deal with it better than Jelena.
Definitely it’s a dream final not only for them, but also for me because I have to get up at 2:30 midnight to watch it AND IF STAR sports broadcast (I’ve not seen women’s BNP matches in that channel, WHY) men’s final only, it’ll be a nightmare (kidding). But one thing is pretty sure, both watches will be interesting to match and I can’t predict now who will be the winners because my lucky coin has been missing.