World number one Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Australian Open today with a humiliating 6-1 6-4 loss to French 16th seed Marion Bartoli for the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
The top seed made a dismal start in her fourth round match against the fired-up Frenchwomen, finally calling on her renowned fighting qualities too late into the match.
The loss extends Jankovic's Grand Slam drought and marked Bartoli's best performance at a major since she reached the Wimbledon final in 2007.
"I knew Jelena would fight ... The last set was really hard for me but I tried to hang tough and play my game," Bartoli said.
"I played my shots and served so well, I'm just so happy."
Bartoli broke Jankovic in the second game then prevented the Serb breaking back twice in the next to race to a 3-0 lead.
The statistics in the first 10 minutes demonstrated Bartoli's dominance, she hit seven winners while Jankovic could not manage one and committed a single unforced error to the Serb's four.
Jankovic looked lethargic as she tried to play her way into the match, constantly casting frustrated glances towards coach Ricardo Sanchez in the player's box.
{{/usCountry}}Jankovic looked lethargic as she tried to play her way into the match, constantly casting frustrated glances towards coach Ricardo Sanchez in the player's box.
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