Former champion Jelena Jankovic shook off a passive start to win her opening match of the Family Circle Cup over unseeded Edina Gallovits 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday.
It was Jankovic’s first match on clay this season and she struggled. The Serbian, ranked seventh in the world, put five shots into the net in her first three games.
But the No. 2-seeded Jankovic pulled herself together after the first set, breaking the Romanian in the second set. She wouldn’t trail on serve for the rest of the hard-fought match, despite screaming at herself a couple of times after missing shots. She didn’t smile until Gallovits netted her shot during a long rally on match point.
“I think it’s a good thing I played a tough match like that because it gives you confidence and you get fitter and fitter for the next rounds,” said Jankovic, the 2007 champion who gets a day off before her round of 16 match on Thursday.
The two only played on clay once before -- at the 2003 French Open. Jankovic didn’t remember that match, but said she won’t forget this one.
“She didn’t have anything to lose. She can just play freely and go after her shots,” said Jankovic, who along with 2006 winner Nadia Petrova are the only former champions in the field.
There were two upsets Tuesday: No. 11 Virginie Razzano of France became the first seeded player to lose, falling to Monique Adamczak 4-6, 6-0, 6-2; No. 15 Melinda Czink of Hungary lost to Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 7-6 (9), 6-3.
No. 4 Samantha Stosur, No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, No. 10 Elena Vesnina and No. 14 Vera Dushevina all advanced in straight sets, while No. 12 seed Aleksandra Wozniak needed three sets to move on to the round of 16.
In the featured match Tuesday night, American teen sensation No. 13 seed Melanie Oudin beat the tournament’s oldest player, 35-year-old Jill Craybas, 6-3, 6-1.
Last year, the 18-year-old Oudin had to win two matches just to qualify for the Charleston tournament, then won two matches in the draw to make the round of 16 and rise to No. 151 in the world. She would go on to make the round of 16 at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open and enters this year’s Family Circle Cup as the world’s 36th ranked player.
“I really love Charleston, getting to play here. I did so well last year as a qualifier. It was one of my big steps, I think,” Oudin said. “Everything started to click for me here.”
