Jankovic schools teen Bencic in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

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  • Jelena Jankovic.

    Jelena Jankovic joked on court on Tuesday about the age difference between her and the Belinda Bencic, the opponent she had just beaten to make the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

    “I’m 12 years older than her… almost her whole age,” laughed the Serb after completing a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over the 18-year-old Bencic.

    Jankovic has a point. When she made the Dubai final 11 years ago, Bencic was only seven.

    But age was not a factor in Tuesday’s affair that saw both players, the veteran and the teenager, trade punches for two hours and 31 minutes before Jankovic came through.

    Lots of credit must be given to both – Jankovic for her comeback and Bencic, for the way she went down fighting.

    The Swiss, who this week makes her top-10 debut, arrived in Dubai barely 24 hours before her match having played and lost a final in St. Petersburg on Sunday. Against Jankovic, she saved a whopping 14 of 17 break points but it still wasn’t enough.

    “It was a really difficult match. Belinda is playing very well, and she’s in form and she’s coming from a final in St. Petersburg. Of course she was coming with confidence here,” said Jankovic, who faces Andrea Petkovic in the second round today.

    “I came into this tournament with not a lot of matches. I’m just getting my rhythm and kind of basically starting the season.”

    Jankovic had a rough start to 2016, losing in the first round in Brisbane, in the second round in Sydney and Melbourne and falling in both her Fed Cup matches last week.

    But against Bencic on Tuesday, she found answers, mixing up her game with the odd drop shot or slice, and taking care of her service games from midway in the second set until the end.

    Bencic drew first blood, breaking for 2-1 and it was all she needed to take the first set in 39 minutes.

    The Swiss youngster looked on her way to a straight-sets win when she broke for 4-3 in the second set but Jankovic had other ideas, breaking back immediately.

    In a marathon 12th game, Bencic saved five set points but faltered on the sixth as Jankovic broke to take the set and force a decider.

    The new world No9 saved four break points in the sixth game of the third set to hold for 3-all. She went down 0-40 two games later but again she found her shots and saved all three break points, winning five points in a row to hang on.

    Jankovic struck a sensational backhand down the line to get two match points on the Bencic serve and the Swiss fell to the ground trying to retrieve that shot and looked like she was cramping. She got up but netted a backhand to surrender to Jankovic.

    “I think the match could have gone either way. It was just one or two points that made the difference,” said Bencic.

    “It wasn’t easy being in Saint Petersburg over the weekend and then in Dubai since yesterday but that’s part of being a professional tennis player and it’s something that we all have to cope with.”

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