Jelena Jankovic, Caroline Wozniacki bow out in singles play

By Nick Georgandis

If you didn’t know the seeds going into Monday’s fourth-round singles matchup, you would have sworn Petra Kvitova was rated No. 3 at Wimbledon and Caroline Wozniacki was the unheralded underdog.



Kvitova, the hard-hitting left hander from the Czech Republic, systematically destroyed Wozniacki, 6-2, 6-0 in just 46 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals. Kvitova rolled up six aces to none for Wozniacki and 86 percent of her first serves went for winners.

Kvitova has emerged as a live wire in the Wimbledon field, needing just nine sets to win her first four matches. It comes as a big surprise considering she was knocked out in the first round at the French Open, and has struggled to stay healthy so far in 2010, suffering from a left ankle injury last month and bronchitis in January.

A left-hander like her idol Martina Navratilova, Kvitova is a tough draw because of her power, a lot of which comes from her six-foot frame. The 20-year-old finished in the top 100 in 2008, reaching the fourth round at the French Open, and did the same at the US Open in 2009. In two previous trips to Wimbledon, she was eliminated in the first round.

Wozniacki reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of the French, but has struggled during the last few months due to a right ankle injury which she has opted to not have surgically repaired.

Kvitova will face Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi in the quarterfinals. Another long player, the 5-foot, 11-inch Kanepi defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-4 on Monday.
Kvitova and Kanepi will be meeting for the second time this year. Kvitova won in the semifinals at Memphis in February.

Wozniacki wasn’t the only high-ranked women’s player to stumble on Monday. Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic had to retire due to a back injury while down 1-6, 0-3 against 21st-seeded Vera Zvonareva.




It was a disappointing end for Jankovic, ranked third in the world and coming off a semifinal appearance at the French Open. The 21st seed, Zvonareva advances to take on red-hot Kim Clijsters, fresh off her emotional victory over fellow Belgian Justine Henin.

It is Zvonareva’s first trip ever to the quarterfinals. Her deepest previous penetration came in 2003 and 2004 when she reached the fourth round.