MELBOURNE // China's Peng Shuai knocked seventh seed Jelena Jankovic out of the Australian Open on Thursday, her 7-6, 6-3 second-round win providing the first genuine upset of the week at Melbourne Park.
Serbian Jankovic, a semi-finalist here in 2008, blew a lead of two service breaks in the first set before claiming a third to force a tie-break, which she lost 7-3.
Peng, ranked 54th in the world after struggling with injury last year, broke for a 4-2 lead in the second and served out for victory three games later, dancing around the Hisense Arena court with a huge smile on her face.
Jankovic was once again left ruing her inconsistency after serving up 39 unforced errors against her deceptively hard-hitting opponent.
Peng's triumph continues China's good showing in the women's draw at the Australian Open.
Her compatriots Li Na and Zheng Jie both reached the semi-finals last year. Ninth seed Li reached the third-round on Wednesday with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory over Evgeniya Rodina of Russia, while Zheng missed the tournament through injury.
