Top seed
Jelena Jankovic made a confident start to her campaign at the Jiangxi Women's Tennis Open, easing past Riko Sawayanagi.
Having waited until Wednesday to see the former World No.1 in action, Jankovic did not disappoint the Chinese crowds. She set the tone on the very first point, wrong-footing Sawayanagi with a forehand winner and 68 one-sided minutes later she added the finishing touches to a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Jankovic enjoyed a solid grass court season, making the semifinals in 's-Hertogenbosch and then reaching the fourth round at
Wimbledon. However, it is on hard that the Serb feels most at home and the summer months have traditionally been a fruitful period of the tennis calendar; seven years ago, a successful stretch on the cement - including a runner-up finish at the
US Open - propelled her to the top of the rankings.
A good run in Nanchang could provide Jankovic, who faces World No.245 Liu Chang in the second round, with the springboard she needs in the build-up to August's
US Open. Her next stop off will be the Premier event in Toronto, before finishing off her preparations for Flushing Meadows in Cincinnati.
While Jankovic was easing through, one of her title rivals, No.3 seed Wang Qiang, was exiting the tournament, slipping to a 7-6(0), 6-3 defeat at the hands of
Han Xinyun. Also advancing to the quarterfinals was No.8 seed
Liu Fangzhou, who needed just over an hour to brush aside Kato Miyu, 6-0, 6-2.
