Dubai: Former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic left with no regrets despite being well beaten 6-2, 6-2 by world No 1 Serena Williams at the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open late on Thursday.
Jankovic has been a regular in Dubai since winning her first title as a professional tennis player at the $25,000 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge back in 2003.
After Thursday’s loss, the Serbian did not offer any excuses. “I felt it was kind of slow and heavy, and the ball didn’t go off my racquet,” she said. “I didn’t really do anything with my ball and I hit the balls short. Basically I think she [Serena] took control of the match and she was pretty much in control the whole time, because I just wasn’t able to strike the ball the way I can.
“I just didn’t play or didn’t feel too good out there. So she was the better player.”
After stopping midway through her post-match interview to take a phone call from her mother, Jankovic was at her relaxed best. “It’s not a big deal,” she said. “It’s just a tennis match and we both fight and we both have respect for each other. That’s basically it. She was the better player tonight. Way better and all the credit to her.
“That’s it and I cannot make excuses and it doesn’t do any good.”
Jankovic made her debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in 2005 and made it all the way to the final, where she lost in three sets to American Lindsay Davenport.
After a first round exit in 2006, she made two successive semi-finals followed by a couple of second round exits. But Jankovic, who spends a considerable amount of time during the season training in Dubai, reached the semi-finals again in 2011 and 2012.
Last year, after an eight-year run, Jankovic took a break from the tournament and instead travelled to Bogota, Colombia, where she won the 13th title of her career.
This year has been pretty solid for the 29-year-old as she reached the semi-finals in Brisbane, where she lost to Viktoria Azarenka, before a fourth round defeat to Simon Halep at the Australian Open and a run to the semi-finals at last week’s Qatar Open.
