Jankovic beats Allertova to win WTA Guangzhou Open

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia beat Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic in straight sets on Saturday to win the WTA Guangzhou International Women's Open.

Fourth seed Jankovic defeated Allertova 6-2, 6-0 to take the tournament with prize money of $226,750. The match lasted one hour and 10 minutes.

The 30-year-old former world number one Jankovic, now with 14 singles titles, was the only seeded player left in competition that saw a number of upsets.

Allertova, 22 and playing in her first WTA final, was ahead in the first set 2-1, but Jankovic won the next 11 games in a row to take the tournament, clinching the win with an ace on the final serve.

"It's amazing to win a title in China for the second time this year -- obviously China is very special to me," Jankovic said in comments to spectators after the match that were posted on the WTA website.

"I really want to thank the fans, not just for today, but for supporting me for such a long time now, and coming out many, many years whenever I come to China."

Jankovic moves on to the Wuhan Open, also in China, which will feature top players including Romania's Simona Halep and Russia's Maria Sharapova, ranked number two and three in the world respectively.

Jankovic won the WTA 125K Series title in Nanchang earlier this year, according to the website.

Allertova, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction with her performance.

"It was an amazing time for me here," she told the crowd. "I'm so happy I could beat so many good players here and play my first final. Jelena was too good, but I'm happy with my week."

The Czech, who was aiming for her first career title, pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament by knocking out top seed Halep in straight sets in quarter-finals play on Thursday.

Halep had lost in the semi-finals of the US Open this month to eventual champion Flavia Pennetta of Italy.

Source: AFP