Injury-wary Jankovic Wins Opener at Beijing

BEIJING, China -- Jelena Jankovic showed no signs of fatigue in her 2006 China Open debut. The 21-year-old Serbian, who had an outstanding summer on American hardcourts, showed no mercy on Monday, crushing Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 60 61, at Beijing Tennis Centre.

"I played really well," Jankovic said. "The first round is always tough for me because you've got to get used to the court and the conditions. I'm happy about the way I played."

This summer, Jankovic collected 10 US Open Series victories. She reached her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles final of the year in Los Angeles and followed up with a breakthrough week at the US Open. En route to her first ever Grand Slam semifinal, she upset Top 10 stars Nicole Vaidisova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva before falling to Justine Henin-Hardenne in three sets. Jankovic, who managed to turn her year around after a 10-match losing streak, is playing either Anabel Medina Garrigues or Marion Bartoli in the second round.

Jankovic was scheduled to play Bali last week but withdrew due to a low back strain.

"I don't have any expectations (here)," Jankovic said. "I'll try to play the best I can. I practiced so much lately, since my back was injured after the US Open, so I had a few days off. I really enjoy my time here and I'll see how far I can go."

Other Monday winners were Elena Vesnina, Sun Tiantian and Peng Shuai. Vesnina survived a 76(0) 57 63 battle against Emma Laine, while Chinese wild cards Sun and Peng also needed three sets. Beijing resident Sun, who managed an impressive victory over Serena Williams here last year on the way to the quarterfinals, beat Vera Zvonareva, 64 16 62. Peng ousted Catalina Castano, 46 75 63.

Eleni Daniilidou, Alicia Molik, Vera Dushevina and Jelena Kostanic won their qualifying matches to save a spot in the main draw.

On Tuesday, defending champion Maria Kirilenko takes on Gisela Dulko and Chinese ace Li Na faces Dushevina.
-- WTA