DOHA: Former world number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia yesterday crushed China’s Saisai Zheng to sail into round of Qatar Total Open where she will meet top seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic today.
Jankovic, winner of 13 WTA Tour titles, won 6-0, 6-2 in 96 minutes for her first-round win.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jankovic will meet Kvitova in their second-round clash at Khalifa Tennis Complex today.
Also yesterday, sixth seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany rallied from a set down to beat Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens in three sets.
Petkovic won 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 in 2 hours 16 minutes.
Petkovic said her performance in the last two sets helped her win the match
“Well, I think I played really well in the third set. I played well in the second,” Petkovi said.
“But Kirsten is not a great match-up for me,” she added. “I always struggle against her. I don’t necessarily like the players that change the rhythm a lot and they play a lot of slices.
“I always struggle with those players and I always struggle with Kirsten. And I think she played really well, especially in the first set.
“I’m just very happy to get through. I was able to step up my game in second and third set,” the German added.
The sixth seed said playing conditions had improved after three-four days of flying dust.
“Actually today it was pretty good with the wind. Yesterday (Monday) and days before, it was very windy and it was difficult to serve,” Petkovic said.
“But today I felt really good on my serve and I think I served really well. So that was nice to play in. I thought timing was really good for me the time of day, because it was really nice to play.
“It wasn’t as cold. It was beautiful. The centre court looks really nice. It was a pleasure to play, definitely,” she added.
Unseeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic also moved into round two with a win against Swiss qualifier Steffanie Voegele.
Pliskova, who has bagged three titles so far in her young career, posted a 7-6, 6-4 win.
There was good news for fans of veteran Indian ace Sania Mirza who teamed up with Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei to sail into the next round in the doubles.
Mirza and Hsieh beat Spanish duo Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2, 6-1 in just 50 minutes.
Top seed Kvitova of the Czech Republic takes to the court today for her first match at the 2015 Qatar Total Open.
Kvitova, the former Wimbledon champion, is aiming for the top prize of $124,000 at the seven-day event that started on Monday.
Also on court will be former world number Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark who is the fifth seed at the event.
Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska - seeded eight in Doha - will also take to the Centre Court at Khalifa Tennis Complex where the event ends on Saturday - the day of the final.
The Qatar Total Open offers 470 ranking points to the winner while the losing finalist gets richer by $66,400 and accumulates 305 ranking points.
The losing finalists in Doha take home $35,465 and 185 points each. The losing quarter-finalists get $19,065 and 100 ranking points each.The Peninsula
