US Open: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga knocked out by world No 52

FRENCHMAN Jo-Wilfried Tsonga became the first high-profile casualty in the men’s event at the US Open last night when he was upended 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 by Slovakian Martin Klizan in the second round.

The fifth seed produced a strangely lacklustre display as he was outplayed by the world number 52 and suffered his earliest-ever US Open exit.

The left-handed Klizan had never been beyond the second round at a grand slam event before but he surprised Tsonga with some inspired tennis.

Tsonga rallied from 4-1 down in the fourth set to 4-3 but the 23-year-old Klizan held his nerve to seal the biggest victory of his career.

Crowd favourite Ana Ivanovic eased into the third round of the US Open with a comfortable win over Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Serb was tipped for glory after winning her first grand slam title at the French Open in 2008 and becoming world No 1, but instead injuries and a crisis of confidence hit and she has never really recovered.

Remarkably, since her Roland Garros triumph, she has not been past the fourth round at any grand slam and has gone out in the first round of all of them over the past three years.

This year has also been patchy. The 24-year-old won only one game against Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round of Wimbledon and, hampered by a foot problem, she was thrashed 6-0, 6-0 by Roberta Vinci in her last match before the US Open. But it has been so far, so good at Flushing Meadows and she hit 39 winners in a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Arvidsson.

The first-round loss for eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki has opened up Ivanovic’s draw and a quarter-final appearance looks well within her grasp.

Ivanovic, who is coached by Britain’s Nigel Sears, the father of Andy Murray’s girlfriend Kim, is optimistic she is on the right path. She said: “I’m really motivated. I want to get back to the top and back in contention to win grand slams again.

“It’s been a long process of getting my mind there and my body and game and everything together. Still it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I’m starting to enjoy it as well. I know, if it doesn’t happen this week, it’s coming. Things are coming together. That’s what I want to focus on and give myself the best possible chance to achieve that.”

Fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic, whose career has also been on a downward spiral, progressed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, while there were also wins for Dominika Cibulkova and Maria Kirilenko. Russian Kirilenko, the 14th seed, beat Hungary’s Greta Arn 6-3 6-2, while 13th seed Cibulkova defeated Bojana Jovanovski 7-6, 7-6.