Jelena Jankovic
Sixth seed Jelena Jankovic
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Thursday, 18, Jun 2009 12:05
Date of birth: 28/02/1985 (Age: 22).
Nationality: Serbian
Height: 5ft 9.5in
Weight: 130lbs
Plays: Right-handed
Turned professional: 2000
Current ATP singles ranking: 6
Best Wimbledon performance: Fourth round - 2006, 2007, 2008
Grass court pedigree
Despite being a former world number one, Jankovic - much like Dinara Safina - has never validated her status as one of the top players in the women's game by winning a grand slam.
Of all the places where she could achieve a breakthrough Wimbledon is the least likely, as her record of never progressing beyond the fourth round testifies.
That said, she is a former Wimbledon champion - having triumphed in 2007 in the mixed doubles alongside Jamie Murray - and has also tasted grass court singles success, beating Maria Sharapova at the DFS Classic in Birmingham in 2005.
Wimbledon seeding: 6th
Chances of SW19 success?
As is the case with her Serbian compatriot Ana Ivanovic, Jankovic has struggled to recapture the form which took her to the summit of the women's game last year. Indeed, one tournament win on the clay courts of Marbella aside, she has rarely threatened in the latter stages of an event in 2009 and her record in the opening two grand slams of the year is poor.
Given her performance at the grass court tournament held at Eastbourne in the run-up to this year's championships, the chances of Jankovic turning her form around at Wimbledon appear limited.
Despite being seeded third, she lost 6-7 6-3 6-2 to Russia's Anna Chakvetadze in the first round and complained afterwards that she was struggling to adapt to playing conditions.
As a result, her best chance of success at SW19 may lie in teaming up with Jamie Murray again in the doubles competition.
Prediction: Fourth round
While Jankovic is an established top-ten player, she is woefully out of touch and bereft of confidence.
Indeed, in the wake of her defeat to Chakvetadze, Jankovic suggested that she may need to take some time out from the game after Wimbledon in order to rediscover her motivation.
With such deep-rooted issues implicated in her loss of form, Jankovic's stay at SW19 is unlikely to be extended too long into the second week, and an early exit to a lowly-ranked player should not be ruled out as a possibility.
Tim Lesnik