Jelena Jankovic: Back at the scene of her prime
There was a time when not much about Jelena Jankovic had not been focused upon. While being treated for an injury on-court one Australian Open, she rebuked a photographer thus: "Don't take photos of my butt."
That was in 2008. Jankovic was on her way to victory over Serena Williams, and then led their rivalry 3-2. Williams would have her revenge in the US Open final that year, but by the end of the year, Jankovic was No.1 in the world, the first to achieve that rank without winning a major.
Verily, it was another time. Kevin Rudd had just come to power in Australia, George W Bush still was US President. Serbia was the coming tennis power. Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open, his first major. Ana Ivanovic won the French Open and beat Jankovic to the No.1 pedestal by a week. All eyes were upon them. On the court, Jankovic was a counterpuncher. Off it, she was quirky. Once in the 2008 Open, after winning a long rally, she retrieved the ball to kiss it.
Jankovic was 22 and her horizon was boundless. But it never came closer. Jankovic has never made another major final, nor back to No.1 – the 2008 Australian Open was her only major while reigning – nor has she beaten Williams again since 2010. Injury, fluctuations in form and other misadventures intervened, on court and off. "Queen Chaos", some called her, also "Weird Al", copied from the American satirist Yankovich, but somehow fitting.
Self-belief: Jelena Jankovic still sees herself as a contender despite being ranked 54 in the world.Credit:Eddie Jim
Her ranking slipped away, and two years ago, she contemplated retirement. Now Djokovic has a dozen titles, and Williams a dozen more, and Ivanovic is retired, and the political landscape has changed even more dramatically than the tennis. "It flew by so fast," Jankovic said on Wednesday. She is 31.
But No.1 is like Mr President, a title for life (God help us!). After another injury-riddled year, Jankovic arrived in Melbourne with no form to speak of and a ranking of 54, but to receptions that showed fans had not forgotten entirely. Besides, tennis' new age is old age. Gone are the precocious punks, replaced by venerable 30-somethings. There were 18 in the women's draw here, and the oldest was still the best, the eternal and indestructible Williams.
Jankovic began with a scratchy win over a qualifier, consolidated on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Germany's Julia Goerges, whose ranking is nearly identical. This was a classic of the Jankovic genre. She hit just nine winners to Georges' 33, but made only 15 errors to her opponent's 44. To keep the ball in play, she travelled many more metres than Goerges, but they were worth it. Keeping the ball in play is tennis' most underrated virtue.
Jankovic said both she and the standard were better in round two, which was encouraging. It was on a showier court, too, which was gratifying after all these years.
Best of all, she had asserted herself at the crucial moments, as good players do. For all the balls she had hit in practice, there were no guarantees. "That's what this sport is about," she said "Anyone can hit those balls freely in practice. But in those crucial times, you have to be sure of yourself and play it right. That comes with playing and competing and getting that match toughness."
Svetlana Kuznetsova, the eighth seed awaits, and then infinity and beyond. Jankovic said she still saw herself as a contender. She had the experience, and the self-belief, and hoped for the necessary luck. It was not the good days like this that would tell, but the others, when it was hot, or windy, or the ball was coming off her racquet not quite so sweetly. Then she would know.
"Being the player I was, I was No.1 in the world ... many years in the top 10 ... over 600 wins in my career, but I cannot [have] such big expectations of myself," she said. "But I still do sometimes. I know I'm capable of doing it and when things don't go my way I get disappointed with myself because some of the things I used to be able to do I'm not doing it at the moment. I have to stay positive and work and fight on the court. Hopefully, I can come back. We'll see."