PARIS, France -- Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic underlined her credentials as a leading contender for the French Open title with a three-set victory over Venus Williams in the third round on Friday.
Jankovic won 6-4 4-6 6-1, reserving her finest play for the third set after the American had bravely fought back to force a decider.
The 22-year-old Serbian has claimed three titles on the WTA tour this season and won the Tier One claycourt tournament in Rome earlier this month.
Williams, who reached the final at Roland Garros in 2002 but missed the last two grand slam tournaments because of injuries, also lost to Jankovic in the third round at Wimbledon last year.
"The third set went a little bit faster than what I expected," Williams said. "I felt a little bit slow ... I couldn't get my feet where I wanted them."
Jankovic dominated the five-time major champion in the first set, winning 20 of the 24 points played in her service games, including the first 10.
Williams, who had hit a world record 206 kph service in the previous round, immediately broke to take a 3-0 lead in the second set and held on to level affairs after 80 minutes without every looking entirely convincing.
Jankovic, who reached the semifinals at the 2006 U.S. Open, broke Williams in the third game of the deciding set and took advantage of a weak double-fault in the fifth to break again for a 4-1 lead.
With Williams wilting, the next two games went to Jankovic as she wrapped up victory in an hour and 53 minutes following a lengthy rally.
Jankovic, who has never before progressed to the last 16 at Roland Garros, will meet either former runner-up Elena Dementieva or France's Marion Bartoli.
"I stayed mentally very strong in third set and I really went for my shots," Jankovic said.
"I was a little bit tired in the second set, but I just went for it in the third and it paid off."
Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Jankovic won 6-4 4-6 6-1, reserving her finest play for the third set after the American had bravely fought back to force a decider.
The 22-year-old Serbian has claimed three titles on the WTA tour this season and won the Tier One claycourt tournament in Rome earlier this month.
Williams, who reached the final at Roland Garros in 2002 but missed the last two grand slam tournaments because of injuries, also lost to Jankovic in the third round at Wimbledon last year.
"The third set went a little bit faster than what I expected," Williams said. "I felt a little bit slow ... I couldn't get my feet where I wanted them."
Jankovic dominated the five-time major champion in the first set, winning 20 of the 24 points played in her service games, including the first 10.
Williams, who had hit a world record 206 kph service in the previous round, immediately broke to take a 3-0 lead in the second set and held on to level affairs after 80 minutes without every looking entirely convincing.
Jankovic, who reached the semifinals at the 2006 U.S. Open, broke Williams in the third game of the deciding set and took advantage of a weak double-fault in the fifth to break again for a 4-1 lead.
With Williams wilting, the next two games went to Jankovic as she wrapped up victory in an hour and 53 minutes following a lengthy rally.
Jankovic, who has never before progressed to the last 16 at Roland Garros, will meet either former runner-up Elena Dementieva or France's Marion Bartoli.
"I stayed mentally very strong in third set and I really went for my shots," Jankovic said.
"I was a little bit tired in the second set, but I just went for it in the third and it paid off."
Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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