World number one Jelena Jankovic had a struggle on her hands as she took on Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama in the Australian Open third round, but was able to move past the No. 26 seed in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 on Friday.

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia returns the ball during the third round match of women's singles against Ai Sugiyama of Japan at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Jan. 23, 2009. Jankovic won 2-0(6-4,6-4). [Xinhua]

"Today was a tough match. I thought I competed much better than in my previous two rounds. Ai is a tough opponent," said the Serb, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title.

"She doesn't really give me any free points. She fights very well and is a very solid player. I had to work for every point. I'm just happy to get through this kind of match," the 23-year-old added.

Jankovic was asked about Thursday's monstrous upset when an unheralded Carla Suarez Navarro stunned No. 6 seed Venus Williams.

"It was an exciting match. I thought Suarez played so well, and I was impressed how well she handled the pressure and competed against a top player. It was a huge win for her."

"Everybody knows how to hold a racquet. It's nothing new. Everybody wants to come out, perform their best and win. Nobody is going out there just to get a few games and leave the court. Nobody is afraid of anybody."

Russia's third seed Dinara Safina, also looking to win her first Grand Slam title in career, reached the last 16 without raising up her game, beating Estonia's 25th seed Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-2.

Her compatriot Nadia Petrova, 10th seed of the season's first Grand Slam, also made it to the fourth round effortlessly when her opponent Galina Voskoboeva from Kazakhstan retired due to injury after losing the opening set at 6-1.

Earlier, the No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia barely broke a sweat before racking up a 6-4, 6-1 triumph against feisty Italian Sara Errani.

Both Safina and her Estonian opponent failed to land remarkable first serve, with Safina at 55 percent and Kanepi at 40, but the Russian exploited 30 unforced errors Kapepi made and blasted 16 winners in the match.

Safina also won 10 out of 11 net approaches and closed out the match in 66 minutes after the Estonian netted a forehand.

Safina's reward will be a round of 16 match against 15th seed Alize Cornet of France, who rallied to beat 19th seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in a thriller.

(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2009)