Jankovic enjoying respect at No. 1

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZURICH, Switzerland -- Jelena Jankovic is enjoying the respect she gets as the top-ranked player in women's tennis.

The 23-year-old Serb, who arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday looking for her fourth straight WTA title at the Zurich Open, is the topic of conversation for many of her rivals on tour.

"Maybe I have more intimidation," Jankovic said. "Because some of the players when I played in Moscow, they say it's impossible to beat her."

The performance that has others doubting themselves is her Kremlin Cup semifinal comeback Saturday against fifth-ranked Elena Dementieva of Russia. After losing the first set 6-0, Jankovic bounced back to take the next two sets 6-1, 6-0.

"One quality that I have is that I don't give up," Jankovic said. "You believe in yourself and feel that you can do anything because this is the confidence that you have from winning a lot of matches."

Jankovic has now won 12 matches in a row, collecting titles in Beijing, Stuttgart, Germany, and Moscow.

She admits the globe-trotting is tiring, but returning to the top ranking last week -- after a week as No. 1 in August -- can be inspirational.

"With a good, positive mind and attitude, I feel that I can do anything on the court, the feeling I have in this moment," said Jankovic, who has been training even harder since recovering from a knee injury after Wimbledon in July.

"I wasn't able to practise for three weeks and I got completely out of shape. I lost the muscle so quickly," Jankovic said. "That is my body type so I have to work very hard in the gym to keep my body strong."

While her performance level intimidates opponents, the five-foot-nine Jankovic believes her physique does not.

"The girls in the top 10 are all very tall, very strong, and I am one of the smallest and weakest ones," she said. "So I have to work harder than them to be up there."

Jankovic has long had a reputation for hard work. Her 72 wins in singles was a WTA Tour-best in 2007, and she has a 63-16 record heading into the Zurich Open, an indoor hard court event.

A year ago, she was exhausted by the time of the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid, Spain. Not this time.

"I feel ready to finish the year and I feel very motivated," said Jankovic, who is almost certain to end 2008 as No. 1.

This year's WTA Championships, in Doha, Qatar, from Nov. 4-9, is Jankovic's next competitive stop after Switzerland.

"I would love to win," she said. "That would really be the crown."

Whether Venus Williams joins Jankovic among the elite eight players in Doha will depend on her results this week. The 28-year-old American is ninth in the standings after Vera Zvonareva reached the final in Moscow last week, losing to Jankovic in straight sets.

The Russian stepped up the pressure on Williams by securing a late wild-card entry to the Zurich tournament.

"I am not going to be entering any extra tournaments," Williams said. "If someone can enter more tournaments and play better than me then I'm going to wish them a lot of luck.

"If I play well enough to earn my place then I'll deserve to be there. You know, I'll probably get in."

Williams has a first-round bye and opens against Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine. Jankovic begins Thursday against either Nadia Petrova of Russia or Flavia Pennetta of Italy.