Tennis:World number three Jelena Jankovic had to overcome injury, a dogged opponent and even an errant driver to reach the second round of the women's singles at the Australian Open after an extraordinary first-round escape at Melbourne Park.
The 22-year-old, who came into the tournament with a thigh injury sustained during the Hopman Cup in Perth, needed just over three hours to beat little-known Austrian Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 in a match in which she came from 4-1 down in the deciding set and saved three match points.
Jankovic's struggle was in stark contrast to the dominance of tournament favourites in defending champion Serena Williams and world number one Justine Henin, who both progressed in straight sets, while Amelie Mauresmo needed three sets to get past Tatiana Poutchek, 6-7 (6/8), 6-0, 6-0. Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova have set up potentially one of the most exciting second-round ties in the history of the Australian Open.
The pair, who between them have won five grand slam tournaments, will clash tomorrow - almost certainly at night in the Rod Laver Arena. Davenport, who is aiming to become the first player since Australia's Evonne Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980 to win a grand slam tournament after becoming a mother, showed all her trademark fighting spirit to come from a break down in the deciding set to beat Italy's Sara Errani 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
And in doing so the 30-year-old, whose ranking slipped to number 73 at the end of last year after she took 11 months off the tour to have her first child, became the all-time prize-money leader in women's sport by surpassing Steffi Graf's former mark.
Sharapova, the number five seed who is desperate to win her first Australian Open to go with her 2004 Wimbledon and 2006 US Open successes, advanced by dismissing Croatian Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-4 6-3.
However, it was Jankovic's epic battle against Paszek - a 17-year-old who was playing just her fifth grand slam event having cut her ranking from 365 to 42 in two years - that was the stand-out match on day one. There were eight successive breaks of serve in the final set as Paszek had five failed opportunities to serve out the match.
Jankovic, whose day began badly when her driver took her to Albert Park (the venue for Australia's Grand Prix) instead of Melbourne Park, could scarcely believe her luck at still being in the year's opening grand slam event. "I was just trying to stay positive and I found a way to win," Jankovic said. "It was unbelievable when I was down those match points and I was really in some tough points and I was maybe lucky a few times. But a win is a win. I was actually praying and saying 'please God help me get out of the situation'."
In contrast Williams and Henin were untroubled in downing newly-naturalised Australian Jarmila Gajdosova 6-3, 6-3 and Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-2, 6-2 respectively. Both appeared focused on what appears an inevitable clash in the semi-finals.
Williams admitted after her match Henin was the benchmark player at the moment in women's tennis. "I definitely think she pushed the bar really high (last year)," the three-time Australian Open and defending champion said of the Belgian.
"She won most of the tournaments she entered and that is really pushing the bar very high."
Henin, who is aiming for a second title here after having missed the event last year following the break-up of her marriage, admits she will have to improve again this year to retain her position as the game's top player. "What I did last year was amazing, it was the best season of my career," she said. "But I always have a lot of ambition, I want to get better and I want to improve."
