Jankovic and Williams make flying starts in Doha

DOHA (Reuters) - World number one Jelena Jankovic beat French Open champion Ana Ivanovic 6-3 6-4 in their opening White Group match at the WTA Championships on Tuesday.

In the same group eighth seed Vera Zvonareva downed fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-3 while American Venus Williams defeated second-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 7-5 6-3 in the Maroon Group.

"It was a pretty strong performance," Jankovic told reporters after beating her fellow Serb for only the second time in eight meetings. "It was very windy and not easy to play but I was strong today and very focused.

"Since the last time we played, at the French Open, I have improved so much. My game has gone to another level."

The two Serbs, playing outdoors for the first time since the U.S. Open in September, often produced good quality but also showed a lot of inconsistency particularly in the early stages.

Ivanovic's forehand was especially potent, with some of her strokes taking the breath away.

The less erratic Jankovic played aggressively from the baseline and was also successful on her occasional forays to the net.

BETTER START

Jankovic made the better start, breaking for 2-0 and holding a break point for 4-0 before Ivanovic settled.

A fine crosscourt forehand gave Ivanovic a break in the fifth game but her opponent stopped her in her tracks by forcing a backhand error to break for 4-2.

Jankovic then broke to love to begin the second set. This time Ivanovic leveled at 3-3 before the world number one replied with another break.

That was enough to effectively end the contest although there was drama before the end.

At 5-3 Ivanovic suddenly stopped in mid-rally and leaned on her knees as if in pain before returning to her chair for medical attention.

She resumed, held serve by winning the next two points before Jankovic served out the match.

"I just started feeling dizzy a little," said Ivanovic. "I think it's maybe humidity and I was probably dehydrated.

"I just felt so weak. I had to stop."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)