Jankovic and Sharapova cruise in Charleston

By Gene Sapakoff

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Top seed and holder Jelena Jankovic weathered a tight first set before crushing American qualifier Alexandra Stevenson 7-5 6-0 in the Family Circle Cup second round on Wednesday.

Second-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova also cruised into the third round, brushing aside American Bethanie Mattek 6-0 6-0 in an evening match.

Serbian world number five Jankovic, after initially struggling to cope with Stevenson's unconventional backhand, took control to wrap up victory in one hour 22 minutes.

"Her backhand was really good and I kept hitting to her backhand which was wrong," the 23-year-old told reporters.

"That's what happens when you don't know the player well but then I found my way. I saw how she was playing, her strengths and weaknesses and I was able to play the tactics a lot better."

Jankovic, runner-up to Serena Williams at this month's Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, next meets Russian Anastasia Rodionova, a 6-3 6-4 winner over Aravane Rezai of France.

"I played her (Rodionova) here last year and I thought that was a very easy match," said Jankovic, who is playing on clay for the first time this season.

DIFFERENT GAME