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The Serbian war machine hits a wall

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Scott's Spot- Scott Ferguson on why Jankovic needs to learn how to beat Henin and why she needs... a break

In a marathon season comprising over 110 matches in singles and doubles, world number three Jelena Jankovic has won four tournaments and reached another four finals. She has played more events than all bar two players in the top 50. The bubbly Serbian with the gritty groundstrokes and supposedly bottomless levels of stamina has campaigned all over the globe this season, defeating many more players than she has lost to. Her ascent to the top however will be forever limited though unless she can break her hoodoo against Justine Henin.

The scoreboard currently stands at 8-0 to the Belgian, a remarkable figure considering their first five clashes went to three sets (JJ winning the first set four times), and the last two battles have been decided 7-6 7-5. With such tight matches but yet so resoundingly one-sided in the result, one has to think there's something in her head that just won't let her climb that final hurdle.

In fact her mental toughness has to be questioned on the face of her losses this season. Two-thirds of them have been in three sets, and her record over the year is only slightly in favour of winning that deciding set (17-13). Compare this to two players around her in the rankings, Ana Ivanovic, (14-4) and Anna Chakvetadze (17-4) in three-set matches.

As I delve further into this, the more it sounds like a golfer with the dreaded 'yips' when putting. Those figures really do disclose a worrying trend. On top of her Henin record, compatriot Ana Ivanovic is starting to get the wood on her as well - 3-0 this year and 4-1 overall. That glass ceiling will hold her back forever until she can break that cycle. Henin is an exceptional player, 2007 has probably been her best year with eight titles and only four losses, but nobody puts her in the category of Federer with that aura of invincibility.

These things can be overcome with time - even Elena Dementieva has started learning to serve at the age of 25! But she needs to recognise the problem, find someone capable of helping her through it and then iron out those traits that hamper her game. Even Roger Federer overcame a 2-7 deficit against Lleyton Hewitt, and now owns him at 13-7. That last loss would have been particularly tough for Federer, leading two sets to love and a break up in a Davis Cup semi-final then allowing the Aussie to fight back in a packed Melbourne Park. Probably the most famous choker of them all, Jana Novotna, got her mojo back and won a Wimbledon singles crown after embarrassing herself against Graf in 1993.

I've tipped Jankovic for Grand Slams this year and I still think she'll be the next of the contenders to win a women's Grand Slam title for the first time. Until she slows down and takes the time to work on her obvious mental frailties, I'll be seriously looking at that lay button every time she's taken to a third set...

To read more about Jelena Jankovic:

http://www.jelenajankovic.net/