Jelena Jankovic Thread

[veronika]

Jelena Jankovic - The Next Superb Serb

Brad Falkner
The Tennis Channel

Girls just want to have fun, and that's exactly what Jelena Jankovic is doing as she travels the globe pursuing her dream of winning Grand Slam titles. The scintillating Serbian has the light of a child in her eyes and the hunger of a champion in her heart. Her expressive and animated on-court antics have made her a fan favorite worldwide.

Jankovic made her top-twenty debut in March of 2005 after advancing to the final of Dubai, but 2004 was the breakthrough year for 20-year-old Serbian. The former junior Grand Slam champion won her first WTA Tour singles title at Budapest in May of that year. She ended last season on a high note with a semifinal showing at Linz and two quarterfinal appearances at Beijing and Filderstadt.

Jelena hails from a very tight-knit family. Both her parents are economists while her brothers Marcos and Stefan are still in school. In 2001, she captured the junior Australian Open and was finalist at the junior US Open and Orange Bowl; finishing the year as the ITF number-one ranked junior, and was also named Junior Sports Girl of the Year in Yugoslavia.

The highly talented Florida resident can hit both flat and topspin winners off her forehand flank, and is equally capable with her two-handed backhand, which she often uses to set up points with precise cross court angles that she can follow up with beautifully placed, down the line backhand winners, a tactic she employed frequently in her semifinal triumph over Australian Open champion Serena Williams last month in Dubai.

The Tennis Channel sat down with this talented, amiable and ambitious Serbian to discuss life on the pro tour, her hobbies, and plans for the future.

TTC: When did you move to the U.S.?

JJ: When I was 12, I went to Nick Bollettieri's in Bradenton, Florida. We were first there for a few months, and then I was given a scholarship and then was signed with IMG.

TTC: What was that like?

JJ: It was very difficult at first because I didn't know any English and I was going to school as well. I just spoke French, and that was a big help because I could ask the other girls for help. I learned French at a diplomatic school in Serbia that was only for French people like the ambassadors.

TTC: Best thing about a professional tennis player?

JJ: I like traveling and seeing different places. I like to learn about the cultures and meet different people. It's difficult to have a lot of friends on tour, especially when you're competing against each other all of the time.

TTC: Education?

I was the best student in every class that I attended. I went to a Serbian school, French School, and an American School. Now I will attend college online. I will be studying a lot while I'm on the road and when I get back to Serbia I will take exams. Besides being a professional athlete I need to have a good education. This is very important for your life after tennis.

TTC: What's the biggest difference between the ATP and WTA tours?

JJ: Many times when you beat someone on the WTA tour they won't say hi to you for like five days. I think with the men's tennis, they play each other and it doesn't matter who wins or loses after the match they can go out and have dinner. Girls are different.

TTC: You represented your country in the Olympics last year. What was that like?

JJ: It was really amazing to be at the opening ceremony. It's hard to explain. It was so amazing to see the fireworks and the lighting of the flame.

TTC: If not tennis what sport?

JJ: I like to play basketball with my brother. I also enjoy swimming and golf.

TTC: Celebrity that you would most like to meet?

JJ: Brad Pitt.

TTC: Favorite food?

JJ: Anything with chocolate.

TTC: Where do you like to go on vacation?

JJ: I love to go skiing in France.

TTC: What the best advice that your mother gave you?

JJ: To be a good person. To be nice and show respect to all people.

TTC: Which tennis players did you admire as a kid?

JJ: When I was younger I did not think that I would become a professional tennis player. My mom wanted me to do something besides school. I was watching tennis on TV and my first favorite player was Martina Navratilova. Then later I became a big fan of Seles especially when she was playing Steffi Graf.

TTC: Who are your favorite athletes?
JJ: Dejan Bodiroga (basketball), Michael Jordon and Pete Sampras.

TTC: What are you not good at?

Cooking. My mom cooks so well that I never had to do it.

TTC: Are you famous in Serbia?

JJ: I'm starting to get recognized. Serbia is not a very big country. Sometimes, it's an advantage. I'm not famous yet. But it is starting to become a bit of a problem with the paparazzi at home. I think it will be a different story if I had a higher ranking.

[veronika]

Jelena's next tournament will be Roland Garros,where I expect her to reach the 4th round or QFs.

GO JELENA!!!

[janie]

"Many times when you beat someone on the WTA tour they won't say hi to you for like five days"

On the 6th day, they say hi. On the 15th day, they finally force a smile. By the 30th day, the only outward sign of their residual anger is a slight facial tic when they speak to their conqueror. ;D

Best of luck to Jelena. I saw her play in her first tournament as a top-100 player, Philly 2003. She lost to Lisa Raymond in a 3rd set tiebreaker. Her groundies were already outstanding then, but I have to think she's improved her serve since then, which was not so great.

[vaiva]

A JJ thread! What was her nickname on WX? Weird something???

She ended the good run by Miracles 6-1 6-4. But I forgive her

[Brinyi]

Weird Al!
www.weirdal.com/

[Edna Krabappel]

Awww, Jelena
The most incosistent player there is. I never know what to expect from her, but that's a part of her appeal as well.

[janie]

Yes, it is.
Hi Joana! Are you Joana of wtaworld?

Yeah, JJ certainly seems to be on fire this week. I'm a little surprised, because I've always thought grass winners = big servers, and when I saw JJ play in Philly, her serve was not much at all.

Of course, i saw her the very week she had first entered the Top 100, in November 2003.. She's had plenty of time to improve her serve since then. Her groundstrokes were already amazing, even back then.

[Edna Krabappel]

Hi, Janie! Yes, I'm Joana of Wtaworld.

Jelena used to hate grass - up to last year she had never won a match on it! But then she had some nice results, including a win over Petrova, so now she doesn't mind it, although it's not her favourite surface.
Unfortunately, her serve is still by far her greatest weakness. On a good day it's decent, but it can so easily break down. She really needs to work on it.
Philly '03 - she lost to Raymond, right? And that after having two match points.

[janie]

And I'm janie of wtaworld!
I forgot about the match points, but that was a great match! JJ was WAY down in the 3rd-set tiebreak and then reeled off a bunch of points in a row. Lisa was lucky to escape. I was the only one there rooting for JJ, because Lisa is a local girl here. But I loved the Jelena she kept fighting, even after needing to leave the court to get her thigh taped -- I thought the match was over but she would not give up.

I was most impressed with Jelena's down-the-line shots on both the FH and BH side. But I am disappointed to learn that her serve is not much better now! I guess that makes it even more amazing what she's been able to achieve, like Elena D.

[janie]

62 64 over Mashona -- and she's into the semis. Don't stop now, Jelena!

[vaiva]

Keep the streak alive, Weird Al

[janie]

I looked at live score expecting to see 26 26, but I see instead that Jelena has taken the 2nd set!

I still expect yet another cruise by Maria through the 3rd, as has happened so far this week, but I hope Jelena won't crumble the way those ladies did. Fight, kid, fight!

[vaiva]

Sadly, she just crumbled the final set 1-6. Booooooooooo! Mooooooo!

[janie]

Yes, quite a sad crumble!

I guess Maria really knows how to crank it up in third sets, and these other girls don't have that skill. Yet.

[Brinyi]

Weird Al explains the crumble:

"I started feeling my left leg towards the end of the second set. It was getting stiff and it was tough to bend, especially on my serve. I didn't have any power to continue and that's why it was 6-1 in the final set. If I play my best tennis I can beat her but I wasn't playing even close to the level I can play at."

[Brinyi]

"She wasn't the only one with a thigh problem. It is a good feeling that despite having to come out with a cold and suffering some muscle soreness, I was still able to win."

-- M. Sharapova goes to the "I was injured but I still can beat you" discourse

[vaiva]

Good and easy win against Anna Chak

JJ really is a WEIRD gAL, has never won 2 matches at a slam. Time to change the record!

[Edna Krabappel]

True, vaiva. Remember the meltdown against Craybas in the second round of AO 2004, right after the great win against Dementieva. Ugh!!!
Break the tradition, Jelena!

[janie]

cool JJ article from tennisweek.com:

Jankovic's Open Joy

By Richard Pagliaro, 09/01/2005

She's Snow White's daughter, bears the burden of the Hunchback and plays tennis with the genuine joy of a kid making her first trip to the Magic Kingdom.



Bolstered by one of the best two-handed backhands in the game, Jelena Jankovic exudes an ingredient that is sometimes in short supply on the injury-ravaged WTA Tour — a spirited sense of fun. Nearly 40 minutes after scoring a 6-2, 6-0 victory over 15-year-old American wild card Alexa Glatch to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time, Jankovic put her racquet down, but just couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

The 20-year-old Jankovic calls Bradenton, Florida home now and goes back to Belgrade when she has time, but looks completely comfortable on the court in New York. She is a high-energy player inspired by the spirit of the city where she surged to the 2001 U.S. Open junior final. Jankovic said the buzz from the crowd can provide an adrenaline rush on court.

"It's really exciting the atmosphere here; it's so alive, so much action and so many people," Jankovic said. "It's really so much fun to play here. New York? What can I say? I wish I wasn't playing every day so I can go out to the clubs, check out things. But I'm not a tourist. I came here to play and play well and after I'm finished I will see what I want to see."

One sight she did not want to see was her singles draw. Jankovic, didn't want to know her next scheduled opponent, but was told anyway by a journalist. She will meet French Open finalist Mary Pierce for the first time. The two-time Grand Slam champion beat Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik, 6-3, 6-2.

Both Pierce and Jankovic are big hitters willing to abruptly alter the direction of rallies by driving the ball down the line.

"I've seen her play quite a bit," Pierce said. "She's a good player. She's young, talented and she's been moving up and doing well. It will be a really good match. I'm looking forward to it."

While the 12th-seeded Pierce has an extensive edge in experience, Jankovic is often able to summon her best tennis against highly-ranked players on all surfaces.

Playing on hard court, She beat Silvia Farina Elia, Sania Mirza and Serena Williams in succession before falling to world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in three sets in the Dubai final in February. On red clay, Jankovic pushed ninth-ranked Nadia Petrova to three sets before bowing in the Berlin semifinals and she showed her grass-court skills in reaching the Birmingham final in June, battling 2004 Wimbledon winner Maria Sharapova for three sets, succumbing, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Bolstered by her Birmingham effort, Jankovic advanced to the third round of Wimbledon where she suffered a heartbreaking, 6-0, 5-7, 10-8 setback to 2004 Roland Garros champion Anastasia Myskina in her best Grand Slam performance to date.

Now, she's playing to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time.

"Of course I can do well here," Jankovic said. "I have to pick up my game and try to play a little bit better in the next match and that's what I will focus on."

The 17th-seeded Serbian had hoped to limit her match play after suffering a strained back in her 7-5, 6-3 opening-round win over Denisa Chladkova. She considered withdrawing from both the doubles and mixed doubles only to find her name already etched in both draws. Feeling a responsibility to doubles partner Tina Krizan and mixed doubles mate Pavel Vizner, Jankovic has opted to try to play through the pain and fulfill her triple duty commitments.

"I am playing a lot of matches; actually I wanted to withdraw from both doubles and mixed because of my injury," Jankovic said. "But already we were signed in for the doubles and mixed and it's not nice for my partners if I said 'OK, I'm not playing right now.' So I will try the best to play well because I don't want to disappoint them."

At nearly 5-10 and 134-pounds, Jankovic has an ideal physique to play an all-court game, but the woman whose mother, Snezana's name translates to "Snow White", resembled another Disney character — the Hunchback — as a large ice back taped to her back from beneath a white tank top with the words "Glam Slam 05". The ice pack protruded significantly while she conducted her post-match press conference leaning back on a blue chair.

"Don't shoot me from the side!" Jankovic joked with a photographer snapping photos during the interview. "I've got an ice pack on my back."

Keeping cool off court comes naturally to the player who didn't give much thought to playing professional tennis as a child. Jankovic's older brother, Marco, was the tennis player in the family and she was preoccupied with playing the piano when her brother and parents introduced her to tennis at the age of nine and a half in an effort to keep her busy. Even before she picked up a racquet, Jankovic was already a tennis fan thanks to Monica Seles.

"I wasn't even playing tennis (when I first saw Seles)," Jankovic said. "I was always watching (Seles) on TV with my dad and I decided to play tennis not because I wanted to be a professional player, but because my parents wanted me to get involved in something so I wouldn't be running around the streets in Serbia."

Six months after she started playing, Jankovic was already entering tournaments. A gas shortage caused by the country's civil war made traveling difficult, so Jankovic dropped the piano lessons and focused her attention on tennis. Two and half years after she picked up a racquet her family moved to Florida. The right hander has trained at the Nick Bollettieri Academy and rose to the ITF No. 1 junior ranking behind her biting backhand that benefits from her strong left hand.

"It's just natural I just started to play like this I just hit the ball no one taught me to do it — I'm a little bit lefthanded," Jankovic said. "I kick a ball with the left leg and I write right handed now, but before I wanted to always right left handed, but they always told me write right handed."

When she's not on the court, Jankovic spends her time jet skiing, listening to music, reading and watching sports. She often relaxes before matches by reading a book the latest title on her locker room shelf has attracted quite a bit of attention among her fellow players.

"I don't know if I should say this, but the book I'm reading now is called 'Why Men Love Bitches,' " Jankovic said covering her hand with her mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to suppress her sing-song laughter. "I put it in my locker and a lot the girls come up to me and say 'Can you pass it on to me when you're done?' "

Her peers are taking notice of her for reasons unrelated to her taste in reading material.

""I love seeing Jelena everywhere except across the net from me," Sandra Mamic said. "She is so funny, look at the way she does everything! The way she talks, the way she walks, the way she laughs."

Currently playing without a coach, Jankovic has made a methodical march up the rankings. She consistently strikes the ball off the center of the strings and is striving construct points more efficiently. Jankovic is at her best playing intuitive tennis, but can sometimes lose her way on court when forced to devise a different strategy. Though she hasn't yet crafted a major breakthrough like 17-year-old compatriot Ana Ivanovic, who reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals, she has a hunger for tennis and life that is insatiable.

"Don't start with the food. Believe it or not, I eat like a pig, really," Jankovic said." It's unbelievable. People tell me: 'How do you eat that much?" For example, yesterday I ate two big plates of pasta and afterward we have a woman from Serbia who cooks for me and she cooked crepes for me and I ate like 15 of them (laughs) with jam, walnuts and I and felt I was going to throw up. After a half hour, I felt like I didn't eat anything."

Jankovic may soon take her charm from the court to the big screen — she's been offered a small role in a Serbian film (a comedy, of course), but is undecided about accepting it while she continues to pursue her part in the Open plot.

[janie]

Wow, this thread is really out of date!

[Edna Krabappel]

LOL, I remember that interview because she mentioned her crepes-eating habits. I'm like that too.

[janie]

I used to e-mail back and forth with that writer, Richard Pagliaro, and I remember him telling me how much fun JJ was to interview. And now she's famous and she hasn't changed at all, has she.