Top-seeded Jankovic loses at Australian Open

Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic was knocked out in the fourth round of the Australian Open, and will have to search elsewhere for her first Grand Slam title.

Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon finalist, broke Jankovic’s serve twice in the first set en route to a 6-1, 6-4 win today and a place in the quarterfinals.

“I tried to not think about it for the whole match,” Bartoli said of Jankovic’s No. 1 ranking. “This is my first time playing in Rod Laver Arena. I think I just played amazingly today and I’m so glad to put on a good performance.”

The 16th-seeded Bartoli had not been past the second round in seven previous trips to Melbourne Park.

Critics questioned whether Jankovic could convert her numeric ranking into a victory in the championship match at a major. She was a semifinalist at the Australian Open and French Open last year before losing the U.S. Open final to Serena Williams.

When Bartoli turned up the pressure today, Jankovic tightened up again.

Bartoli was the aggressor, repeatedly sending Jankovic serves back faster than they came over and standing two steps inside the baseline for second serves.

Bartoli hits two-fisted, flat and hard from both sides, and she peppered the lines and corners. Jankovic, repeatedly covering her face or looking to her mother for support and guidance, seemed shellshocked after falling behind, 5-0, in the first set despite shouts of “Let’s go JJ!” from the crowd.

Saturday night, men’s No. 1 Rafael Nadal ripped 53 winners in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Tommy Haas.

Nadal kept his unforced errors to eight -- and to just one in the 43-minute second set.

“I played one of my best matches here at the Australian Open,” said Nadal, who has improved by one round in each of his five trips to Australia. Andy Murray won 11 straight games during a 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 win over Austrian Jurgen Melzer. He was broken when serving for the match at 5-1 and wasted two match points in the subsequent game before finishing off with an ace.

Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, losing finalist last year, joined fellow Frenchmen Gael Monfils and No. 6 Gilles Simon in the fourth round. He next faces No. 9 James Blake, the second American to reach the final 16 after Andy Roddick.

No. 7 Roddick had a match against Spaniard Tommy Robredo later today.