Jelena Jankovic overcame Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday to give Serbia an unassailable 3-0 Fed Cup lead over Japan that puts the Balkan nation through to the World Group play-offs for the first time.
Jankovic, recently toppled as world number one, went into the match with a 3-0 head-to-head record against Sugiyama and, despite a bout of nerves before a massive home crowd, continued her domination against Japan's top-ranked player.
Cheered on by at least 10,000 adoring fans in the Beogradska Arena, Jankovic fought off the nerves to storm to a 4-1 lead. Sugiyama, a veteran on the women's tour at 33 years old, then mounted a mini-comeback, only be overpowered by the Serb's superior and deeper ground strokes.
World number three Jankovic broke the serve of the 26th-ranked Japanese three times in the first set, and went on to better it by one in what was the decisive second.
"To be honest, I was a bit tense and nervous because I wanted this win so much," Jankovic said in a courtside post-match interview. "In the end, I managed to pull through in this match and to get the third point that allows Serbia to advance, which is the most important thing," said the 23-year-old.
Serbia had made a perfect start on Saturday in what were Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic's first competitive matches in their hometown before what state-run broadcaster RTS said was a record crowd of 15,118.
"It was a great honour for me to play this weekend in front of all of you and thanks for coming. I hope there will be many more opportunities to play in front of you," Jankovic said Sunday, when a similarly strong crowd showed up. On Saturday, French Open champion and world number eight Ana Ivanovic showed glimpses of her 2008 form to defeat Sugiyama 6-4, 6-4, before Jankovic destroyed 18-year-old Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-0. Ivanovic will face Morita in Sunday's second reverse singles match. Regardless of the outcome, Serbia has clinched the play-off berth for next year's Fed Cup World Group I.
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