Sport - Tennis

Jankovic, Venus make flying starts

DOHA: World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic beat Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-4 in their opening White Group match at the WTA Championships on Tuesday.

In the same group, eighth seed Vera Zvonareva downed fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3 while American Venus Williams defeated second-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 7-5, 6-3 in the Maroon Group.

Jankovic made the better start, breaking for 2-0 and holding a break point for 4-0 before Ivanovic settled.

A fine crosscourt forehand gave Ivanovic a break in the fifth game but her opponent stopped her in her tracks by forcing a backhand error to break for 4-2.

The results: