TENNIS WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS:THE WOMEN'S draw entirely opened up yesterday with the departure of the second seed Jelena Jankovic, amid accusations from her that a request to reschedule her match to a later time, owing to a knee injury, fell on deaf ears within the Wimbledon organising committee.
Jankovic was also rostered to play on court 18 and again accused the organisers of not adequately explaining why she was banished to the periphery of the Wimbledon site instead of playing on one of the stadium courts, Centre Court or Court one.
Players are generally, although not exclusively, appointed courts according to their ranking and in the men's draw Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and now also Andy Murray do not play on outside courts.
"I was almost playing in the parking lot," complained Jankovic. "I almost needed a helicopter to go to my court."
The second seed injured her knee in her third-round match against Caroline Woziacki and after a scan revealed a tear to the meniscus, she needed as much time as possible before facing 31-year-old Tamarine Tanasugarn, a player who almost gave up the sport two years ago when her ranking fell down to almost 140.
A later match would have given Jankovic more time for treatment and recovery. Instead it began at noon, the first match of the day. Clearly curtailed by the injury, she fell 6-3, 6-2 to give Tanasugarn her first Wimbledon quarter-final, against Venus Williams.
"I was not happy with the scheduling. I asked to play a little bit later on in the day, which would give me a few more hours to recover and do another therapy in the morning," said Jankovic. "When I saw that I'm on the schedule at 12.0 in the morning and especially on court 18, which was very unusual for a number two seed . . . what else can you do. The scheduling was not made in a good way.
"They told me Court 18 is a TV court. And I said so are Centre Court and Court number one. This is not a reason to put me on court 18. It's also not normal that Venus plays on court number two and then Chakvetadze and Vaidisova who are seeded 18 and I don't know what, are on Court number one. It makes no sense."
Jankovic found an unlikely ally, firstly in Venus Williams, who was, in her own pursed-lips way, also angered over the court appointment. Her successful 6-3, 6-4 tilt at Alisa Kleybanova was played out in front of 2,192 people, the capacity of court two and also on a surface that plays differently to the bigger courts. Centre Court capacity is 15,214.
"There's not too much that I'm going to say in the press," said Venus. "I think that obviously no matter where we play, we realise we have to play well. That's pretty much all I have to say."
The issue for Williams seemed to be one of gender and perhaps respect, although again she was reluctant to become embroiled in a dispute with the All England Club even when it was pointed out that the top men's seeds, Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal, are never asked to leave Centre and number one courts. "Well, you said it. It's true," she said.
Her younger sister, Serena, who followed Venus on to court two for her 6-3, 6-3 win over American Bethanie Mattek, weighed into the debate a little more heavily when she was asked if she cared that she was out on the intimate court two.
"Of course I cared," she said. "But at the end of the day I'm going to have to focus on winning my match. I don't want to go out there to lose just because I'm angry at being on court two."
Venus Williams' reticence could stem from being energised by Jankovic's departure and the blessed luck of her next round meeting with the 65th-ranked Tanasugarn, which would be considered one of the easiest picks remaining.
Venus did let her concentration drift off, something she is prone to doing, in the second set after taking a 4-0 lead. However, she permitted Kleybanova to come back before winning 6-3 6-4.
Serena's win over Mattek earns her a meeting with Agnieszka Radwanska, the teenager from Krakow, Poland. Radwanska took three sets to knock out fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
The Russian had the game under control when leading 4-1 in the decider but started playing from the baseline rather than going to the net where she had prospered. Radwanska took full advantage and fought back leaving one angry fourth seed on her way to the airport.
Jankovic and Kuznetsova going out with Maria Sharapova and top seed Ana Ivanovic is also the first time since 1927 that all four top seeds have not made it to the quarter-finals.
The winner of Williams and Radwanska may face the unseeded Jie Zheng who is having the time of her life. Her 6-3, 6-4 conquest of 12th seed Agnes Szavay continued her giantkilling exploits and earned her a first Grand Slam quarter-final.
The 24-year-old from Chengdu made her name when she took out world number one, Ivanovic, in the third round and now meets Nicole Vaidisova. If Zheng wins she will be come the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam semi-final.
