Sixth seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia was on a mission in the Indian Wells championship match, as she upended 2nd seed, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6-2, 6-4.
Jankovic, consistently hitting deep groundstrokes, broke the Dane in the first and third games of the match to race into a 4-0 lead. Although she surprisingly lost serve in the sixth, she immediately broke back before taking the opening set.
The Serb, distinctive in her lime-green dress, tightened her control when she again broke in the first game of the second after the Dane netted a forehand. The rest of the set went with serve and Jankovic, playing in her first WTA final of the year, earned match point with a backhand winner down the line before sealing victory when Wozniacki’s service return landed long.
It was Jankovic’s fourth successive victory over Wozniacki. The former top-ranked player from Serbia dictated from the baseline throughout the 1 1/2-hour match, hitting the lines and keeping Wozniacki on the run.
This was the first title for Jankovic in seven months. Two years removed from being the world’s No. 1 player, Jankovic is projected to rise to No. 8 when the WTA Tour rankings are released Monday. She hadn’t won a title since August at Cincinnati; Indian Wells is her 12th career title.
But Jankovic is looking far beyond just this week’s rankings. “I’m looking to playing some good tennis and really doing the right things out there,” she said. “If I’m doing that, I’ll be winning big titles and the ranking will come on its own.”
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Wozniacki, a U.S. Open finalist last year, is projected to climb to a career-high second when the world rankings are released Monday. She should have a great career ahead of her, reaching this level while still a teenager. Look for great things to come from Wozniacki!
