Jankovic loses the plot

Fifth seed Serb latest womens big name to be dumped at US Open; Tsonga sails to Round Three....

Jelena Jankovic followed fellow former finalist Elena Dementieva to be eliminated at the US Open on Thursday.

After American teenager Melanie Oudin,blinking back tears and ignoring pain,defeated No 4-ranked Dementieva,No 5 Jelena Jankovic lost 6-3 6-7 4 7-6 6 to Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan in a 2 hour-40 minute match.

Jankovic reached the final in 2008,but she said she wasnt focused on this day: Her grandmother died on Wednesday. I was very sad and emotionally I was really not on court, Jankovic said. I really tried my best to be there and to try to play,but it was really hard.

Shvedova met Oudin in the locker room after her win over Jankovic. I said,Thanks,you inspired me, Shvedova said.

After saving two match points,Shvedova closed out Jankovic in the third-set tiebreaker with her sixth ace after setting up her match point with an overhead slam to end a long rally. It was her first win over a top 10 player. It felt like I was on the court all day, she said.

The losses by Dementieva and Jankovic mean half of the top 20 seeded women are out of the draw. No 23 Sabine Lisicki of Germany also is gone,having left in tears as she was taken away in a wheelchair after injuring her ankle at the end of a 6-3 3-6 7-5 defeat against Anastasia Rodionova of Australia.

Oudin will next play against 2006 champion Maria Sharapova,who eliminated another 17-year-old American,Christina McHale 6-2 6-1 at night. The 381st-ranked McHale was a wild-card entry who didnt really challenge Sharapova.

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Flavia Pennetta became the first woman to advance to the fourth round on Friday,beating Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-1 6-1. The 10th-seeded Italian next plays either Vera Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina.

Untroubled

The mens seeds here are relatively untroubled. Seventh seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advanced to the third round early on Friday by beating Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 7-5 6-3 6-4. The Frenchman had 45 winners and converted all three of his break-point chances to improve to 38-14 this year.

Tsonga has reached the third round at Flushing Meadows in three consecutive years but has yet to advance past this point. The 2008 Australian Open finalist lost to Tommy Robredo last year and Rafael Nadal in his US Open debut in 2007. The 24-year-old Tsonga will play Julien Benneteau of France who beat No 30 Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-0.

Late on Thursday,2007 runner-up Novak Djokovic and No 5 Andy Roddick sailed through. Roddick,the 2003 US Open champion and 2006 runner-up,beat Marc Gicquel of France 6-1 6-4 6-4 at night and now takes on the 6-foot-9 Isner. Djokovic cruised by Australian qualifier Carsten Ball 6-3 6-4 6-4.

Results Seeds

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Mens second round: J-W Tsonga 7 def J Nieminen 7-5 6-3 6-4, T Haas 20 def R Kendrick 6-4 6-4 7-6 3,F Verdasco 10 def F Serra 6-3 6-0 6-3,S Querrey 22 def K Kim 7-5 6-7 6 6-4 6-4,N Davydenko 8 def J Hernych 6-4 6-1 6-2,R Soderling 12 def M Granollers 2-0 40-0 retired,T Robredo 14 def G Garcia-Lopez 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-4,R Stepanek 15 def L Mayer 7-6 5 6-3 6-4,J Blake 21 def O Rochus 6-4 3-6 7-6 6 6-3,N Djokovic 4 def C Ball 6-3 6-4 6-4,P Kohlschreiber 23 def S Devvarman 6-3 6-4 0-6 6-2,A Roddick 5 def M Gicquel 6-1 6-4 6-4.

Womens second round: F Pennetta 10 def Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1 6-1,G Dulko def A Bondarenko 30 6-4 6-0,N Petrova 13 def J Coin 6-4 7-6 3,D Safina 1 def K Barrois 6-7 5 6-2 6-3,S Cirstea 24 def S Dubois 6-4 5-7 6-4,M Oudin def E Dementieva 4 5-7 6-4 6-3,C Wozniacki 9 def P Martic 6-1 6-0,Z Jie 21 def A Cornet 1-6 6-3 6-3,S Errani def P Schnyder 19 7-5 6-2,Y Shvedova def J Jankovic 5 6-3 6-7 4 7-6 6,S Kuznetsova 6 def A Sevastova 6-4 6-2,M Sharapova 29 def C McHale 6-2,6-1.