Jankovic races into China Open second round

BEIJING, Sep 18 (Reuters) Serbia's Jelena Jankovic thrashed Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-0 6-1 in the first round of the China Open today, her first outing since her U S Open heroics two weeks ago.

The 21-year-old sixth seed, who beat three top-10 players on the way to her first grand slam semi-final at Flushing Meadows, ruthlessly dispatched Dominguez Lino in 42 minutes at the Beijing Tennis Centre.

Despite suffering lingering effects of a back strain that led to her to pull out of the Bali event last week, Jankovic took just 16 minutes to win the first set and clinched a place in the second round on her first match point.

''I'm not feeling my best but I'm really enjoying my tennis at the moment,'' Jankovic, who next faces Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues or France's Marion Bartoli, told CCTV.

The top four seeds, led by France's world number one Amelie Mauresmo and Bali champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, were given first round byes at the 600,000 dollar tournament.

REUTERS PM BS1543