Losing the Ball in the Sun

NEW YORK—Jelena Jankovic finally made it back to Arthur Ashe Stadium today, which was a victory of sorts for the former No. 1 and 2008 U.S. Open finalist. Her tournament began out on Court No. 4, where you’re more likely to find a bitter fight to the finish between a qualifier and the No. 6 player from Italy, or a rip-snortin’ mixed doubles match, or maybe a girls’ singles quarterfinal.

“I was upgraded,” Jankovic said. “I go upgraded from Four to Court 17 (the National Tennis Center’s corner-pocket show court) to Ashe. It was fun to be back.”

Sort of.

The down side was that Jankovic’s third-round clash with second-seeded Agnieska Radwanska was the first match of the day, with just a scattering of fans in the massive arena and a blazing sun that made it almost impossible to track the ball in the air.

Actually, there was no “almost” about it, as far as Jankovic was concerned. She whiffed, completely and gloriously, at an important if early stage of the match, trying to hold serve after an exchange of breaks left Radwanska with a 3-2 lead.

Jankovic completely missed a smash at 30-15, then lost the next two points to fall behind 2-4. She would never catch up.

A few years ago, when Jankovic was playing loose, dangerous, carefree tennis, she might have laughed at that strikeout. Today, it got under her skin and undermined the fragile fund of confidence she’s been able to develop while coming out of a simply terrible, extended slump. Jankovic has lost her opening-round match d 14 times in 23 tournaments on the eve of this event, and has come to specialize in losing to women she might have carved to pieces playing left-handed just four years ago.

“You’re right about that,” she said of her failure to see any humor in the botched smash after losing the match to Radwanska, 6-3, 7-5. “But still it was a big point, and when she won that game it really helped her confidence.”

It’s been almost painful, watching Jankovic torpedo her chances time after time, tournament after tournament, in recent years. She still just 27, and a gifted ball striker who moves beautifully. But she still spends entire matches tip-toeing around the perimeter of the corn maze that is her mind, and all too often darts in to get lost for a while.

It was like that today, against one of the most steady players on the tour; Radwanska herself knows that playing Jankovic these days is an adventure. As the winner said, “Was a lot of games that was like, 30-all, 30-love (for Jelena) and then suddenly I was winning the games. It was a lot of weird points.”

Weird, but always entertaining. A match between these two is like watching two kittens from the same litter engage in a tug-of-war over a hank of yarn. Their style is similar, but their gifts so subtle and eye-pleasing that it’s a treat simply to watch them engage in a long rally. And neither is reluctant to move forward when the occasion demands, although a slightly more aggressive game plan might have greatly improved Jankovic’s chances today.

When these two engage in a 24-shot rally, it’s not just a long one, it’s usually a really, really pretty one. There’s Jankovic, driving that down-the-line flat backhand with force many women can’t muster, never mind the courage it takes to attempt it. And there’s Radwanska, squatting as she plucks a bullet off the baseline with one of her trademark windshield-wiper forehands. Remember when watching a WTA “baseline battle” had about the same effect as taking a fistful of ambien? Not with these two.

Radwanska still needs to show that she can win on the biggest of all stages, and in this era when power reigns supreme, that’s a tough assignment. Jankovic has a more explosive game, and she came very close to that ultimate triumph on a warm and sultry night in New York four years ago. She remembers that night (she lost to Serena Williams), and still thinks of it often.

“It’s one the favorite moments of my career,” she said. “There’s nothing more exciting or nicer than here, in prime time, a night match with twenty thousand people so excited to be there. It’s really electric. I think only the players who been in that situation can maybe explain that feeling.”

But even when they can explain it, they can’t always duplicate it. It’s a little like losing the ball in the sun, and it can happen to anyone.