No. 2 Jankovic survives tough 2nd round; Roddick wins

NEW YORK - Jelena Jankovic's leg cramped so badly, she couldn't take another step.

Luckily for the No. 2 seed in the U.S. Open, the agony occurred during her post-match run on the treadmill. Anyone who watched could clearly see she left about everything she had out on the court.

Jankovic outlasted Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 Wednesday on yet another uncharacteristically mild August day in Flushing Meadows. She planned to take a 10-minute run on the treadmill but lasted only three when pain flared in the area of a knee injury sustained at Wimbledon.

"I couldn't go anymore," Jankovic said. "My leg was straight and I couldn't bend it. The muscle was in spasm and I had a lot of pain."

Treatment with ice and stretching and massaging loosened her leg enough for her to go back to the locker room to take a shower before she spoke to reporters in a much more comfortable setting.

Until then, it was Arvidsson who made her life difficult for the better part of three hours.

"That was a really tough one," said Jankovic, who has reached the fourth round in the first three Grand Slam events this year. "As you can see, I am completely out of breath. She really pushed me to the limit."

Eighth-seeded Andy Roddick, who has battled a shoulder injury this summer that led him to skip the Beijing Olympics, won his first match in straight sets. He beat Fabrice Santoro - the oldest man in the draw at 35 - 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

The third night traditionally showcases the first men's match of the second round, but this year that was saved until today. All women's matches Wednesday were second-round pairings.

While Jankovic escaped an early exit, No. 8 seed Vera Zvonareva couldn't. Zvonareva was upended by Tatiana Perebiynis 6-3, 6-3 in the tournament's biggest upset yet.

No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova shook off an early break and rallied to a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Sorana Cirstea. Fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva advanced over Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-1. No. 12 Marion Bartoli of France, No. 14 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and No. 15 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland also won.

Former champ Lindsay Davenport, the No. 23 seed, beat Alisa Kleybanova 7-5, 6-3.

No. 25 Francesca Schiavone was knocked out by Anne Keothavong 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, and Zheng Jie of China eliminated No. 26 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-4.

In other men's first-round play, No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic shook off an injury to his left ankle in the third set and beat Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic rolled the ankle while going for a shot on the right sideline in the fourth game. After receiving on-court treatment, he wrapped up the match with a break of Clement's serve.

Fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No. 19 seed, moved on with a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over Santiago Ventura; and No. 18 Nicolas Almagro beat Frank Dancevic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion and No. 3 seed this year, trailed 4-2 in the opening set before getting back on serve and eventually forcing a tiebreak that she dominated against her inexperienced opponent. She cruised to a 5-0 lead in the second and closed out the match in 1 hour, 13 minutes.

"Here you feel special, like I've made it here," Kuznetsova said. "It's an amazing feeling. ... I just play much more confident."