Oz Open: Jankovic, Roddick advances

Melbourne, Jan 19: Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and World No 1 and Andy Roddick of America advanced to the second round in the Australian Open on Monday, Jan 19. Meanwhile Ana Ivanoic survived early tournament wobbles. Jankovic crushed Yvonne Meusburger 6-1, 6-3 in impressive fashion as she is in hunt for her maiden Grand Slam title to silence the critics who question his ranking.

Meanwhile Roddick, seventh seed was equally formidable and crushed German qualifier Bjorn Rehnquist 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. But Ivanoic struggled before winning over Germany's Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-3. Though complained of feet burning on Melbourne Park's sunny rubberised surface, Jankovic kept her cool, benefiting from a brutal off-season training regime in Mexico.

She said, "It's exciting to begin the tournament and to start with a win is always nice. It was so hot and my feet were really burning." She added that if she is going to go very far in the tournament then she have to deal with it.

Meanwhile Roddick, raced through his match in just 105 minutes. A three-time semifinalist, he said adding another Grand Slam title to his 2003 US Open win is his 'ultimate goal.' "I'm 26 so I'm not quite over the hill," he said. "I battled some injuries last year so it was kind of tough getting back and being able to train. Winning Slams is the ultimate goal and I'm excited to start here," he added.

Second seed Roger Federer and third-ranked Novak Djokovic are the main threats in Roddick's half of the draw, with both men playing later on Monday, Jan 19. However the favourites of Bookies are William sisters, who will get their tournaments underway on Tuesday, Jan 20. While Venus Williams is searching for her first title, Serena will play for her fourth Australian crown.


OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)