+ Magdaléna Rybáriková [DF] d. Kristina Mladenovic [WC], 6-1 2-6 8-6
The match was first on Court 7, and lasted exactly two hours (first set 29m, second set 28m, third set 1h03m).
16-year-old Mladenovic has one of the fastest first serves in women's tennis, with a fastest of 124mph to Magda's 116mph! Magda served faster on average, though: first serve 106-104mph, second serve 80-76 mph.
Magda got 64% of her first serves in, winning 65% of the points when she did so, and 53% on second serve. Intriguingly, her first-serve winning-percentage was inversely proportional to her first-serves-in percentage from set to set, suggesting that she went for her first serve most in the third set and least in the second.
Mladenovic got only 46% of her first serves in, winning 58% of the points when she did so, and 50% on second serve.
Mladenovic served 6 aces and 4 double faults, Magda 3 aces and 2 double faults.
Both girls had negative W:UE ratios, with Mladenovic slightly more aggressive and erratic at 28:39 to Magda's 25:32. Each girl had a positive W:UE ratio for the set that she won one-sidedly, while the W:UE ratios were at their worst for both players in the third set.
Magda converted 5 of 8 BPs, while Mladenovic converted all four of hers. Magda won the first set by 2 breaks to 0, lost the second by 1 break to 3, and won the third by 2 breaks to 1).
Magda won 13 of 20 points at the net (65%), while Mladenovic won just 5 of 14 (36%). This suggests that Magda deliberately drew Mladenovic to the net with dropshots, forcing Mladenovic to play Magda's game. Also interesting is that most of the net-play occurred in the third set: Magda winning 9 of 13 (69%), Mladenovic 3 of 8 (38%).
In points, Magda won 94-83 (first set 29-17, second set 11-28, third set 47-38).
Mladenovic went on to win the Girls' Singles title!
From www.sonyericssonwtatour.com:
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(5) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) vs. Magdaléna Rybáriková (SVK)
First meeting
A semi-finalist at Roland Garros two years running, former world No.1 Jankovic doesn't exude confidence at the moment. Winning her 10th Tour singles-title at Marbella in April was a boost, but by the Serb's high standards, quarter-final finishes at Stuttgart, Rome and Madrid were disappointing, and did nothing to help the 24-year-old get back to the top of the rankings.
Right now, though, stringing wins together is surely the priority, and Rybáriková should provide an honest gauge of her form. The Slovak is only making her second main-draw appearance at Roland Garros, but so far this year has reached the semis at Hobart and Pattaya City, and scored wins over Flavia Pennetta and Caroline Wozniacki - the player who beat her in the final of the Wimbledon juniors in 2006. Hovering around the top-fifty mark, she says her goal for the year is to join such players in the top twenty; a good showing today would do wonders for her reputation.
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- Magdaléna Rybáriková [DF] lt. JELENA JANKOVIC [5], 1-6 2-6
This match was first on Court Suzanne Lenglen, and I saw the last five games of this match on BBC Red Button! It was my second time to see Magda play (the first was the Wimbledon 2006 Girls' Singles final, which she lost to Caroline Wozniacki).
Magda looked stunning in a pink, open-shouldered dress. She looks as similar as you can get to a young Daniela Hantuchová.
I think the scoreline is a harsh assessment of Magda's performance (at least in the second set). She won 44 points (just 4 shy of the minimum needed to win a best-of-three match), and detained Jankovic for 1h22m.
What struck me about Magda in tennis-terms is that she has become a very proficient net-player. She mixes two-handed backhands with one-handed sliced backhands, behind which she now goes to the net (unlike Wimbledon 2006, where she basically spent the first half of the Girls' Singles final in two-handed backhand mode, and the second in sliced-backhand mode but not going to the net AFAIR); she did hit some elegant volleys in this match. I can't wait to see her play on grass again!
What I'm not so impressed by is Magda's proclivity to run around her backhand to hit forehands. Not only does this expose a huge gap to her right, it can also result in the ball jamming into her body when she does it on a ball wide to her backhand-sideline.
I do think Magda is a candidate for my Eternal Fanship, and have promoted her to the top of my demi-fanship. She's made great progress in the last year after some injury-setbacks after Wimbledon 2006, but she needs to show me a lot more quality-tennis (there were glimpses in this match) before I would seriously consider inducting her. [I inducted her on 16th June 2009.]
Magda's net-game looks very flairsome, but I require brilliance from the baseline - the bread and butter of any member of my Eternal Fanship - and I haven't seen that from Magda yet [I saw it at Birmingham two weeks later!]. She was a junior the first time I saw her, and a little bit out of her depth today (she had a W:UE ratio of 17:29 to Jankovic's 19:8), but I believe she has a lot of potential.
RYBÁRIKO @ * 2 JANKOVIC @*@* *@ 6
Magda serving 1-2: Ad Jankovic. Magda on the third stroke netted an off-forehand.
Jankovic serving 3-1: Jankovic advanced towards the net, forcing Magda to net a forehand. 15/0. Magda forehand just long. 30/0. Jankovic backhand long. 30/15. Jankovic came to the net on a netcord from Magda, and Magda hit a nice backhand lob-winner just inside the baseline. 30/30. Magda netted a backhand under pressure. 40/30. Jankovic forehand long. Deuce. Jankovic opened up the court with a backhand down the line, and hit a forehand winner down the other line. Ad Jankovic. Magda hit what would have been a crosscourt forehand winner onto the baseline - had it not been just long (the umpire checked the mark and confirmed it).
Magda looks rather sad at the moment.
Magda serving 1-4: Magda on the third stroke netted a sliced backhand off a penetrating return. 0/15. Jankovic off-forehand winner. 0/30. Magda netted an off-forehand. 0/40 (BP #1). Serve out wide: Jankovic netted a backhand return. 15/40 (BP #2). Magda hit a terrific wide serve onto the sideline for a virtual ace (the umpire checked the mark, and Jankovic rubbed it out with her foot). 30/40 (BP #3). Magda went to the net and hit a forehand smash-winner. Deuce #1. Magda went for a big ace down the centre-line, but it was just wide. She mishit a sliced backhand just long. Ad Jankovic (BP #4). A good serve forced a very short return, which Magda dispatched with a thunderous crosscourt forehand virtual winner. Deuce #2. Magda hit a down-the-line backhand virtual winner. Ad Magda. After a beautiful rally, Jankovic hit a short-angled crosscourt backhand winner. Deuce #3. Jankovic off-forehand wide. Ad Magda. Service-winner out wide.
Jankovic serving 4-2: Weak second serve: Magda hit a pinpoint forehand return-winner down the line. 0/15. Backhand return long. 15/15. Magda went to the net, but hit a high backhand volley wide. 30/15. Magda went to the net once behind a sliced backhand, hit a few volleys and was forced to retreat, then later worked her way back in to the net and hit a forehand smash-winner. 30/30. Magda ran down a short ball and hit a forehand winner down the line. 30/40 (BP #1). A long baseline-rally ended with Magda netting an ambitious backhand dropshot. Deuce #1. Jankovic slipped going for a good backhand from Magda, and netted a forehand. Ad Magda (BP #2). Magda ran around her backhand on a very wide serve, and netted an off-forehand - what a terrible decision! Deuce #2. Magda hit a wild backhand return very wide. Ad Jankovic. Magda went to the net behind a sliced backhand, and hit an off-forehand punch-volley winner. Deuce #3. Jankovic off-forehand smash-winner. Ad Jankovic. Magda went to the net, but it wasn't the right ball to come in on; she also stumbled a bit, and Jankovic hit a forehand pass-winner down the line.
Very nice stuff from Magda in that game, though she let herself down with a couple of bad mistakes.
Magda serving 2-5: Magda ran around her backhand and hit an off-forehand wide. 0/15. A deep ball just inside the baseline from Jankovic forced Magda to mishit a backhand lob wide. 0/30. Magda forced a short ball, but hit an aggressive down-the-line forehand just long. 0/40 (MP #1). Magda caught her toss, and Jankovic netted a backhand return. 15/40 (MP #2). Double fault (second serve just long). Jankovic won 6-1 6-2 at 12:33 CEST (second set 54m, match 1h22m).
Magda had a W:UE ratio of 17:29 to Jankovic's 19:8. Magda elevated hers from a woeful 4:14 for the second set to a much more respectable 13:15 for the second.
Jankovic got 69% of her first serves in, winning 64% of the points when she did so, and 60% on second serve. From the first set to the second, it would appear that she went for her first serve less, as she got more in, but her winning-percentages dipped.
Magda got 50% of first serves in, winning only 47% of the points when she did so, and 34% on second serve. The big difference from the first set to the second was that she upped her second-serve winning-percentage from 23% to 42%.
Magda's first serve was much faster than Jankovic's: fastest 114-110 mph, average 107-89 mph. Jankovic had a slightly faster average second serve: 83-81 mph.
In a match with no aces, Magda served two double faults, Jankovic just one.
Jankovic broke three times from 21 BPs (converting 3 of 8 in the first set, and a rather more wasteful 3 of 13 in the second), while Magda didn't have any BPs in the first set, but converted one of four in the second.
One area in which Magda did excel was the net, winning 13 of 21 points there (62%) to Jankovic's 6 of 16 (38%). In the second set, Jankovic won 3 of 11 points at the net (27%), suggesting that Magda drew her there deliberately with her dropshots.
In points, Jankovic won 68-44 (first set 28-13, second set 40-31).
Venus Williams, Jankovic advance at French Open (AP)
By Chris Lehourites: AP Sports Writer
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Venus Williams saved a match-point before beating her Czech opponent Lucie Šafárová, and Jelena Jankovic joined the seven-time Major champion in the third round of the French Open on Thursday by defeating a Slovak.
Jankovic had an easier time, moving a step closer to her third straight semi-final appearance at Roland Garros by beating Magdaléna Rybáriková 6-1 6-2.
"I think I'm coming back," said Jankovic, who started this season as the top-ranked player in women's tennis. "This is the most important thing for me, especially when you saw me playing a few months ago. It was really disastrous."
The fifth-seeded Jankovic won 15 of the first 17 points, and then broke her opponent in the final game of the first set. In the second, she recovered from an early break to win four straight games, and closed out the match with her sixth break of service.
Jankovic lost in the semi-finals at Roland Garros in each of the last two years. She made her first Major final at the 2008 US Open.
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Less weight, more expectation for Jankovic (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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After shedding seven kilos to regain her slimline figure, Jelena Jankovic has opted to add weight to her expectations.
"I think I'm coming back. This is the most important thing for me, especially when you saw me playing a few months ago," the fifth-seeded Serb told reporters after beating Slovak Magdalena Rybáriková 6-1 6-2 to reach the third round of the French Open on Thursday.
Former world number-one Jankovic arrived in Paris with no specific goals following an under-par start to her season.
"It was really disastrous. I was moving terrible. I was making so many errors. My game was completely off, as well as my confidence," added the 24-year-old Serb, who will face Australian Jarmila Groth for a place in the fourth round at Roland Garros.
Jankovic did struggle on Suzanne Lenglen Court on Thursday in a 54-minute second set, but she was pleased with her overall performance.
"Now I think I'm on the right track, and I'm trying to get into my form again - the form that made me win a lot of matches last year," she said.
"I think I'm doing well at this moment. I hope to continue. I'm back to my normal weight, as well. I lost some muscle - I had maybe seven kilos more than I have now, which is a lot for me.
"When you put that kind of weight on and you are not used to it, it's tough to move around."
Jankovic said she was also having more fun on court as she set her sights towards a maiden Major title.
"I want to get back to that spotlight," she said.
"I think I'm enjoying my tennis again, which was not the case the last few months. It was really tough for me to even smile on court with the way I played.
"But things have changed, and I hope that I can just get better and better each time."
Although she reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, Jankovic refused to put too much pressure on herself.
"There are other girls who are the favourites for this tournament, who have done better than me in the last couple of tournaments. So the pressure is on them," she said.
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Jankovic - a semi-finalist here in 2007 and 2008 - feels she is on her way to regaining the form that saw her top the women's rankings at the start of the year.
"I think I'm coming back," said Jankovic. "This is the most important thing for me, especially when you saw me playing a few months ago. It was really disastrous."
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