World number one Jelena Jankovic insists her first Grand Slam title is just around the corner.
Serb confident of breaking her major duck
World number one Jelena Jankovic insists her first Grand Slam title is just around the corner.
The 23-year-old Serb became the first woman to top the rankings without winning a major, but she is adamant that is not a burden on her.
She also feels that being world number one is a bigger achievement than lifting a Grand Slam trophy.
On the eve of the Australian Open, she told the Melbourne Age: "Finishing the year as the number one player in the world is really a huge achievement.
"Winning a grand slam is also a great result, but it's only being the best for two weeks, and being number one in the world during all the year you have had the best results from all the other players.
"My time will come, I am only 23 years old. There will always be: 'Yeah, but she hasn't reached a final', then I reached the final of the US Open and then when you win a grand slam they're going to say: 'Yeah, but she hasn't won five grand slams, or 10'. It will always be something.
Goals
"But I have my goals and that's the most important thing and my goal is to keep working hard, keep improving, keep becoming better and better as a player. My goal for this year is to start winning grand slams and I feel like I have the experience, I feel like I'm mature enough and my five minutes will arrive some time soon."
Jankovic starts her challenge in Melbourne against Austrian Yvonne Meusburger, who is ranked 104 in the world.
Provided there are no upsets along the way, she will meet either third seed Dinara Safina or last year's runner-up Ana Ivanovic in the final four.
Ivanovic - who plays German Julia Goerges first up - and rising star Caroline Wozniacki are potentially on course for a repeat of round four last year which Ivanovic won.
Success
Safina will open her Melbourne campaign against fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva. The 22-year-old has enjoyed good success in the past 12 months, beating Justin Henin, Maria Sharapova and Jankovic while they were top of the rankings.
She finished 2008 with victories in Berlin, Los Angeles, Montreal and Tokyo and was a finalist at the French Open - won by Ivanovic - and lost to Elena Dementieva in the final at the Beijing Olympics.
