BEIJING (AFP) — Serbia's Jelena Jankovic celebrated her new number one ranking with an Olympic win on Monday but warned injury could yet wreck her campaign.
The 23-year-old from Belgrade, who took over the top spot from compatriot, and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, was still touch-and-go with a calf problem after beating Zimbabwe's Cara Black 6-3, 6-3 in round one.
"It's quite special to be playing as number one and I was quite excited about that," she said.
"I had some problems but I managed to finish the match. I will see what the doctors say and receive some treatment and see how I will feel for tomorrow."
Jankovic reached the top ranking despite having never won a Grand Slam and claiming only one title this season.
She is the third women's number one since Justine Henin's shock retirement in May.
Jankovic donned a specially designed red dress for the occasion featuring a laurel wreath design.
"It's a special dress for the Olympics. So it's quite cool. I received a lot of compliments from the girls and from the people around here," she said.
"It's a little bit different to what I used to wear. But you get so wet from sweating. That's not so nice -- too much humidity!"
The Serbian, who has won six tournaments in her career, reached the top of the rankings after a 12-month display of consistently successful results.
Over the past year, Jankovic has won the Tier I title in Rome, reached finals at Toronto (2007), Beijing (2007) and Miami (2008) and six semifinals, including two of the three Grand Slams so far this year (Australian Open, Roland Garros).
She is slated to face Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko in the second round.
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