Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Australian Open as Marion Bartoli claimed a crushing 6-1 6-4 fourth-round win.
Frenchwoman sets up clash with Zvonareva, Safina survives scare
Top seed and world number one Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Australian Open in dramatic fashion as France's Marion Bartoli claimed a crushing 6-1 6-4 fourth-round victory.
The 16th seed dominated her opponent throughout with Jankovic struggling for any sort of rhythm or consistency.
With unforced errors undermining her game, Jankovic's quest for a maiden grand slam title goes on, while the impressive Bartoli now moves on to face Vera Zvonareva in the quarter-finals after the Russian beat compatriot Nadia Petrova.
Elsewhere, number three seed Dinara Safina was forced to rally from 5-2 down in the deciding set of her match with France's Alize Cornet before recording a 6-2 2-6 7-5 triumph.
But there was no doubting the lead story in the women's draw on Sunday as Jankovic claimed the dubious honour of producing the worst performance of a top seed since Steffi Graf's defeat to Amanda Coetzer at the same stage in 1997.
Bartoli set the tone for a terrific display as she broke Jankovic in her opening service game courtesy of a fierce backhand winner.
Another break followed and although Jankovic finally got going to secure three break points in the fifth game, she was unable to convert, allowing Bartoli to fight back and open up a 5-0 lead.
The Serb saw off two set points on her delivery to finally get on the board in the next game, but Bartoli served out convincingly to secure the opening set in just 31 minutes.
Stranglehold
Jankovic managed to hold in the opening game of the second set, but with Bartoli's pinpoint groundstrokes showing no sign of faltering, the Frenchwoman held and then claimed another break in the third game of the set to take a stranglehold on proceedings.
But the top seed showed commendable spirit to break straight back and hold, only for Bartoli to claim the advantage again by breaking in the seventh to lead 4-3.
Back came Jankovic to level things up, but yet another break for Bartoli after a lengthy deuce proved decisive with the 16th seed serving out at 5-4 to clinch a memorable win.
"I just played amazingly today and I'm so happy that I could put in a good performance," Bartoli said.
"I just tried to play my game and hang tough. I knew Jelena would fight until the end and the last game was really tough but I served really well in the last game."
Jankovic blamed her shock defeat on a lack of practice, stating: "I haven't played for a while. For two months I didn't compete.
Sick note
"I was supposed to play an exhibition in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, me and my mother, we got sick, so it was very hard where I couldn't play some matches over there, which I wanted, just to feel the atmosphere, get the rhythm on the court.
"I'm this kind of a player who needs a little bit of time to get used to it, to get the routine playing matches and get the confidence.
"Then I feel that I can do whatever I want on the court. At the moment I'm still not there.
"I'm still finding my range, to get that confidence when I'm playing. Today I just couldn't find it."
Seventh seed Zvonareva will square off against Bartoli in the last eight, after
dispatching Petrova 7-5 6-4.
Zvonereva squandered six break-point opportunities in the first game, which
lasted 10 minutes, but got the advantage in the third and held to take a 3-1
lead.
But at 4-2 down, Petrova won the next three games - before Zvonereva held her serve and broke her opponent again to take the set 7-5.
Zvonareva continued her good form in the second set, regularly hitting deep
winners from the base line and capitalising on the mounting unforced errors by
Petrova before she eventually clinched the match with a forehand smash.
