No. 7 seed Jelena Jankovic is the highest seed to fall so far at the 2011 Australian Open. The 7th seeded #8 Serb was defeated by unseeded #54 Shuai Peng of China.
The first set was close, going to a tie-break which Peng won 7-3. Peng then took over the 2nd set winning quite easily 6-3. Peng had two match points on Jankovic’s serve in the eighth game but the Serbian player held. Peng served it out in the next game, clinching it on yet another unforced error from Jankovic.
The 25-year-old Jankovic was ranked No. 1 from August 2008 until February 2009, and had to counter criticism that she had never won a major despite the top ranking. Her drought at the majors continues after this early exit.
