Jankovic cramps up after win

By Ira Podell ASSOCIATED PRESS | Thursday, August 28, 2008

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

Luckily for the No. 2 seed in the U.S. Open, the agony occurred during her postmatch run on the treadmill. Anyone who watched clearly could 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. She planned to take a 10-minute run on the treadmill after 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.

No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova shook off an early break and rallied to a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Sorana Cirstea, and fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva advanced over Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-1.

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

In men's first-round play, eighth-seeded Andy Roddick beat Fabrice Santoro - the oldest man in the draw at 35 - 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

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.

Fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

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