Jankovic to Fight out for World No. 1

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia returns a shot to Venus Williams of the U.S. during their JB Group Classic tennis tournament in Hong Kong Jan. 8, 2009. [Photo: Xinhua/Reuters]

As she enters a grand slam as top seed for the first time, Jelena Jankovic is recovering from illness, lacking match practice and warding off criticism that her No.1 ranking is unwarranted.

But the 23-year-old Serbian glamour girl insists she is not feeling the pressure heading into the Australian Open.

"I'm just a girl who enjoys her tennis, I go to the court with a smile on my face," Jankovic said at Melbourne Park on Saturday.

But after winning more matches than any other players on the women's tour last year, she has not had much tennis to enjoy. Her only match so far in 2009 was a straight sets loss to Venus Williams of the United States at a Hong Kong exhibition event, before she withdrew from the tournament with a virus.

Jankovic was confident she will recover fully in time for the opening round, but admitted it was not ideal preparation. "It will be an extra challenge for me. I will try my best here and see how everything will go."

In contrast, her nearest rivals boast form and confidence.

Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva has two tournament wins in the past fortnight, while her third-seeded countrywoman Dinara Safina was runner-up in the Sydney International.

Second seed Serena Williams, who beat Jankovic in last year's US Open final and is a three-time champion in Melbourne, also looms large.

Williams again on Saturday asserted her belief that she is the world's best player, despite the rankings say otherwise.

Jankovic said she and Williams both had the right to believe they were the best.

"I'm the No.1 player in the world and I believe I'm the best one, I feel, as the No.1 player in the world," Jankovic said.

"Serena can feel the same, everybody has their own confidence and the belief in themselves, otherwise I wouldn't think you could be successful."

While Jankovic acknowledged it would be nice to short-circuit that debate by winning in Melbourne, she did not feel it was needed to justify her position.

"If I win a grand slam it will be a great result, great achievement, but I'm already No.1," she said.

"I believe all of these girls here want to be where I am now, so I'm just enjoying it and really having fun."

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