Djokovic and Jankovic lead Serbia to opening win

Jelena Jankovic from Serbia plays a backhand shot in her women's singles match against Hsieh Su-Wei from Taiwan during session three of the Hopman Cup mixed team event in Perth December 30, 2007. Jankovic won the match.

PERTH (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic shook off some early-season rust to give top seeds Serbia a winning start to their Hopman Cup campaign on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Taiwan.

Jankovic put them ahead with a 6-4 6-4 victory over world number 157 Hsieh Su-wei and Djokovic was pushed hard before beating 110th-ranked Lu Yen-hsun 7-5 2-6 6-3.

The Serbs, both ranked third in the world, then joined forces to win the mixed doubles 3-6 6-2 10-8.

Having only returned to the practice courts two weeks ago after undergoing nose surgery in November, Jankovic looked very rusty early on.

The 21-year-old Hsieh, who has spent most of her time on the ITF circuit, a level below the main WTA Tour, forced Jankovic into a host of errors but the Serb's greater experience saw her through.

"It was my first match of the year, after two months off (and I had surgery), I didn't expect myself to play my best tennis but I really enjoyed myself and am happy with the win," Jankovic told reporters.

"I'm actually not that happy with the way I played but I will try to get my rhythm again."

Men's world number three Djokovic needed to dig deep to overcame a stubborn effort from Lu, who played superbly to level the match at one set apiece after the Serb had won a tight opener.

Djokovic had treatment on his lower back early in the second set but he recovered his poise in the decider to clinch victory after two hours, 34 minutes.

Later on Sunday, the France team of Arnaud Clement and Tatiana Golovin take on the Argentina line-up of Juan Ignacio Chela and Gisela Dulko in the other Group A encounter.

The winners of each group in the eight-nation mixed team event will meet in Friday's final.

(Editing by John O'Brien)