Jelena Jankovic cruised to a straight-sets victory in her US Open first-round match against Coco Vandeweghe on Monday evening.
Second seed makes impressive start to US Open campaign
Jelena Jankovic cruised to a straight-sets victory in her US Open first-round match against Coco Vandeweghe on Monday evening.
Jankovic, seeded second behind fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic at Flushing Meadows, prevailed 6-3 6-1 against her 16-year-old American opponent.
Vandeweghe's powerful groundstrokes suggested a big future beckons in the sport, but she also totalled 33 unforced errors while being swept aside in ruthless fashion.
"I was excited to go on court, play my match and get the job done," said Jankovic, who is chasing a maiden grand-slam title in New York.
"I was also quite nervous tonight, I don't know why. It was my first match and I was playing an opponent who I didn't know.
"All I knew she was a junior and I only heard that she was 16 years old they said when they introduced her on the court. She was hitting the ball so hard, maybe harder than the top players.
Windy conditions
"And it's always tough to play an opponent who doesn't have anything to lose, especially in the first round with the windy conditions out there.
"But I did as much as I needed to do to win the match. I am happy with my win and looking forward to the next round."
Jankovic, whose best run at the US Open was reaching semi-finals in 2006, will meet Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson in the second round.
Meanwhile, 10th seed Anna Chakvetadze became the biggest casualty on the first day, losing 1-6 6-2 6-3 to fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
Chakvetadze wilted under Makarova's withering groundstrokes to make her earliest grand-slam exit for three years.
