By Chris Oddo | Tuesday September 27, 2016

No. 2-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza was knocked out of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open by Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday, 6-4, 7-6(2). The loss was partly a product of the Spaniard’s inconsistency (she pitched in 42 unforced errors against 28 winners) but one must credit a very strong effort from Jankovic. The Serb, a runner-up last week in Guangzhou, played a very solid match, striking the ball with authority from both wings and really never giving Muguruza much of a chance to take control.

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Jankovic snapped a three-match losing streak against Muguruza and improved to 19-19 on the season with her win. She reaches the third round at Wuhan for the first time and will face Barbora Strycova next.

“I had a tough season with some injuries,” Jankovic said after the match. “Just happy to be out here and fighting.”

Jankovic improves to 14-12 on hard courts this season, while Muguruza drops to 15-11.

The 22-year-old Spaniard dropped to 30-16 on the season and missed out on the chance to improve her chances of making the WTA Finals in Singapore for the second consecutive season. She entered the week at No. 6 in the Road to Singapore standings.

Jankovic only needed one break to claim the opener. She pulled ahead 3-2 with a forehand winner while Muguruza was stuck at the net and held serve in her next three games.

There wasn’t much between the pair in the second set. Jankovic broke for 6-5 but Muguruza broke right back to force a tiebreaker.

Jankovic pulled away by winning the final five points, clinching the win when a Muguruza backhand dropped into the net.