Prime Jankovic doesn't get enough credit. She was 5'11," ran like a gazelle and had very good power on her ground strokes. She wasn't all defense, she could hit winners from anywhere on the court. I love her game
She never won a GS that's why people forget her. Plus, after a while her game became predictable and players knew how to deal with her. That's why her game deteriorated.
Best two handed backhand in the history of the women’s game IMO. Just incredibly solid from any position on the court, can place it anywhere, and can really give it a rip.
@@Ricky-mo6mv concur. I've never seen a backhand like hers actually in men's or women's game. Just pure FLAT attacking speed when she needs to turn it on. Medvedev comes close with that flatness on the backhand side.
@@karlgan5247 Maybe Li Na was somewhat similar in terms of flatness and speed? But yes, I always loved how sneaky the Jankovic BH was -- she could find those DTL and Off BHs seemingly from out of nowhere.
she had a beautiful cross-court shot as well. She hit one pretty magical one, right in the corner, against Tamira Paszek at this same tournament, saving a match point, IIRC.
I think the closest she got to win a slam was RG 2008, if she beat Ivanovic in that close match I am sure she would've won easily against Safina just like Ana did. Also she was 5-3 40-0 in that second set in US Open final, who knows what would've happened in the thrid. Still JJ the best ❤️
@@karlgan5247 no she certainly wouldn't have outlasted Serena in the 3rd. Melbourne hard courts are slower than those at the US Open- which is why counterpunchers have more of a chance winning here than in New York. Serena would have hit right through her and turned up the Ace Machine to win free points and take that trophy home.
She didn’t DESERVE anything lol. If you don’t win 7 matches in a row you don’t deserve it. Although 2007-2009 JJ was quite good and had a lethal backhand.
@@julianandrews9425 and so, what is your point? She was n1 , she has the shots, the athletisism, but she faces a very tought era with the Williams, ivanovic, sharapova, justin henin and some others
@@alanleandro17 My point is that if you can’t win 7 matches in a row you don’t deserve a Grand Slam. Jankovic didn’t deserve one. Neither did Dementieva, Safina, Zvonareva, Bouchard, Cibulkova, etc. They didn’t have the mentality to win one.
@@julianandrews9425 she did win 12 or 13 in a row when she won Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow in three consecutive weeks at the end of 2008 tho (and 6 or 7 of those were against top 10 players like Venus, Dementieva, Kuznetsova and Zvonareva). Her being a headcase and some injuries is what cost her slams but at her best her game was beastly. I think that's what people mean when they say she "deserved" a singles slam.
Jankovic was so great when she also went for that forehand down the line. Later on in her career she stayed in the crosscourt rally too often, with a short ball being punished by her opponent.
One thing I often think about with this match is given how poorly Serena played and how this tournament Sharapova was the absolute best form she had in her entire career, would Serena have gotten up for and maintained her perfect post 2004 record against Sharapova, if she had beaten Jankovic, and made the semifinals? It’s hard to think Serena, even with that incredible record would have beaten 2008 AO Sharapova. But it’s equally as hard to imagine Serena losing to Sharapova.
@@cartoon4191lmao true but Sharapova prevailed anyway with the way Serena was playing…Sharapova would’ve beaten her too. Glad to see I’m not the only one who sees that Serena has chosen many battles in Australia. In 2006 she lost to Hantuchova to avoid Sharapova. In 2008 she lost to Jelena to avoid Sharapova/Henin. In 2012 she lost to Makarova to avoid Sharapova.
@@user-ic9hk6su6u keep believing that but I know better…Serena when not in form would rather lose to someone else or withdraw just like it happened at the French Open 2018. She withdrew before having to play Sharapova AGAIN 😅
@@danielgoncalves8079 She was injured in this match. I remember the interview, saying that she was a wounded dog backed in a corner - she had nothing to lose and played as if she didnt. Serena was still a little overweight and not in top form, exhausted from losses of the previous year.
Absolutely weak era where players like Jankovic, Safina, Wozniacki & Ivanovic were world no 1 despite Serena's prime. That's shows her lacks of consistency outside of slams & her part time schedule.
@@trelawnny so true she hardly mention them .when bartoli started bragging about beating serena in Wimbledon she was trying to make her self like she did something great withstanding bombs of serena serve serena was off a year after the glass incident in Germany and played only a small tournament before Wimbledon and Wimbledon where she lost to her . Yes she never talks about her injuries
