MELBOURNE, Australia — Jelena Jankovic went out in the fourth round of the Australian Open today and No. 3 Dinara Safina was twice a point away from following the top-ranked player to the exit.
In consecutive matches at Rod Laver Arena, Frenchwomen took it to the top seeds. Jankovic was ousted by No. 16 Marion Bartoli.
Safina survived, fending off double-match point against No. 15 Alize Cornet.
“I am so lucky that I’m in the quarterfinals. She was one point away,” said Safina, who made eight double-faults and 52 unforced errors to only 29 by Cornet. “My heart is still pumping so hard.”
Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up, was the aggressor in a 6-1, 6-4 win against Jankovic that wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“Yeah, it’s obviously disappointing. Nobody likes to lose,” Jankovic said. “Today was a tough day for me.”
The 23-year-old Serb remains without a Grand Slam singles title and could also be without the No. 1 ranking in another week.
Safina, who was down 5-3 and 40-15 with Cornet on serve, rallied to win 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. She assumes the top ranking if she wins her first major here.
When the 22-year-old Russian converted breakpoint with an overhead in the pivotal 10th game in the third set, she pumped her right arm up high in triumph.
Cornet, who had crumbled to her knees with her head in her hands after losing the previous point, didn’t win another game.
Safina, the Olympic silver medalist, had never been past the third round at Melbourne Park. After racing to a 5-0 lead in the first set, it appeared she was coasting. Then she came apart and started missing routine shots with the court wide open.
“I don’t always want to play like this,” she said. “I want to play better for my team, I think they have a heart attack watching me.”
When Bartoli turned up the pressure today, Jankovic tightened up.
Bartoli was the aggressor, repeatedly sending Jankovic serves back faster than they came over and standing two steps inside the baseline for second serves.
Bartoli hits two-fisted, flat and hard from both sides, and she peppered the lines and corners. Jankovic, repeatedly covering her face or looking to her mother for support and guidance, seemed shellshocked after falling behind 5-0 in the first set despite shouts of “Let’s go JJ!” from the crowd.
Jankovic fended off two set points while serving at 1-5, but Bartoli easily held in the next game, finishing off the set with a deft drop shot that caught Jankovic behind the baseline.
Jankovic wanted to challenge Bartoli’s winner in the next game but couldn’t. The Frenchwoman went on to hold despite a twitchy double fault at 40-15, whacking a forehand winner down the line and raising her arms in jubilation.
Men’s No. 1 Rafael Nadal ripped 53 winners in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win against Tommy Haas later Saturday and next faces 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez rallied for a 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (10), 6-2, 12-10 win over Richard Gasquet of France.
No. 4 Andy Murray won 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 over Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, losing finalist last year, joined fellow Frenchmen Gael Monfils and No. 6 Gilles Simon in the fourth round.
Australian Open
Weather: Sunny, high of 73
Attendance: Day: 45,068; Night: 20,950; Total: 66,018
Winners: Men — No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 4 Andy Murray, No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 6 Gilles Simon, No. 9 James Blake, No. 12 Gael Monfils, No. 13 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 14 Fernando Verdasco. Women — No. 2 Serena Williams, No. 4 Elena Dementieva, No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 13 Victoria Azarenka, No. 18 Dominika Cibulkova, No. 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues, No. 22 Zheng Zie
Losers: Men — No. 17 Nicolas Almagro, No. 18 Igor Andreev, No. 22 Radek Stepanek, No. 24 Richard Gasquet, No. 31 Jurgen Melzer. Women — No. 12 Flavia Pennetta, No. 20 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 31 Alona Bondarenko
Stat of the day: 191 — number of winners by each player in a marathon five-setter won by Fernando Gonzalez over Richard Gasquet, including a 12-10 scoreline in the fifth set
Quote of the day: “I had match point. Bad luck with the backhand. But I couldn’t do better than I did. That’s tennis.” — Gasquet talking about missed opportunities in his loss to Gonzalez
The Associated Press
