Jelena Jankovic Credits Strong Tuneup, Serve as Source of Wimbledon Success

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Jelena Jankovic Credits Strong Tuneup, Serve as Source of Wimbledon Success

After knocking off two-time and defending Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in stunning fashion on Day 6, Jelena Jankovic credits her decision to play more tennis on grass before the Championships as a big reason for her surprise second week appearance.

More: Federer Speaks on Biggest Challenges Facing Serena

“One of the reasons is because I never played, you know, a warmup tournament before,” she said on Saturday after defeating Kvitova, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. “So I would just come from French Open. I would come here and wouldn't know what I'm doing on grass. It's happening so fast. The points are going so fast. Before I know it, I'm out of the [tournament].”

Jankovic, who reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon on four different occasions from 2006 to 2010, has never reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. She went 1-4 at the Championships from 2011 to 2014, but has won three in a row to reach the second week this year.

“This year I decided to make it a little bit different,” she said. “So I played two warmup tournaments. I played 's-Hertogenbosch semifinals, then I played in Birmingham, which I won in the past, many years ago. I think it helped. You know, it helped a lot to feel more comfortable on grass, to adapt to the surface. As well, I just wanted to give myself a chance to make something, to do something, at least better than in the previous years.”

Another reason for Jankovic’s success at Wimbledon has been her serve. She’s served 28 aces in three rounds, which is seven more than Serena Williams and third among all players.

Against Kvitova, Jankovic won 39 of 53 (74%) first-serve points and 16 of 24 (67%) second-serve points.

“She has really great serve, so it was tough to return and break her in the second half of the match,” Kvitova said.

“It's unbelievable,” said Jankovic. “Maybe my serve is not as fast as some of those big girls. But if I'm hitting my spots, it's quite effective. Today as well, once my serve was working, especially that first serve, I was holding my games quite easily, you know. I think it was, as well, hard for Petra to attack and get some returns on it. I think that stroke has improved. I think it can always get better. But, you know, I'm on the right track.”

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