CHARLEROI, Belgium (AP) Jelena Jankovic beat Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 7-5 Saturday to give Serbia a 1-0 lead over Belgium in the first round of the Fed Cup.
Jankovic is a former No. 1 player, and she showed her experience late in the opening set. She forced a first break of serve against the 176th-ranked Flipkens, and kept the momentum going through the early part of the second to lead 4-2.
However, she let Flipkens back in the match and had to save two set points before pushing through for the straight-set win and Serbia's first point.
In the second singles, 29th-ranked Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium played Bojana Jovanovski, 76 places below her in the rankings.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters sat out the opening round. Serbia is without former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.