BEFORE: Jelena Jankovic has become the forgotten lady of WTA according to most experts but she preaches some wisdom regardless - "At least I didn't fall so far down the rankings as that Canadian chick Bouchard did!" - in the lead-up to the much anticipated clash versus Russian Maria Kirilenko who herself has disappeared off the glamour radar following her oh-so secret billionaire marriage earlier this year. The Singapore fans wave the Sports Illustrated posters where Kirilenko prominently featured in the Swimsuit Edition back in 2009 but her comeback was derailed by Daniela Hantuchova already and now she's no longer positioned as the favorite against Jankovic either. However this is still WTA at it's best and one should always look ahead to a couple of veterans seeking a much needed victory to stay in the spotlight.

Jelena Jankovic wears a yellow bikini set and black gloves. Dark brown hair tied in a classic ponytail. Maria Kirilenko wears a green bikini set and silver gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a bun at the back of her head. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Both girls lack confidence early and Jankovic always likes to work the counterpunching drill more than anything else but she receives no proper welcome from the Russian in the opening round and has to tee off on a half-hearted assault to break the stalemate. Kirilenko soaks these efforts up hidden behind a tight earmuff and she strikes late to make her case thumping the brunette up the middle and shaking her stance with a surgical left/right combo that exposes the older girl a bit too much so early in the fight. A feisty hook clocks Jankovic on the temple and sends her backing into the corner which suggests she's really low on cofidence despite openly flashing Eugenie Bouchard down the toilet before the fight.

Round 2:
Kirilenko's not as performance strapped as the Canadian and Jankovic learns about it the hard way early in the second when she gets bumped on her heels with another accurate drive that shatters the Serbian guard and has the blonde thumping unanswered leather to take control of the action. Jelena weaves around on her feet but still gets clipped by a series of aerial attacks and once she finally pounces back she crashes off the guard and loses the wrestling battle for a firm stance on the boards. Maria bumps the brunette off and slams a quick riffle upstairs to send the Serbian into another disappointing circle and the Singapore crowd can't wait to see the former WTA #1 finally hitting the higher gear. Nothing from Jelena after two.

Round 3:
And now the lacklustre approach gets punished as Maria leaps into another classic left/right combo that proves too much for the brunette's guard and dumps her into a deep earmuff cover on the ropes. Maria slips by the frantic defence by peppering the midriff and bends the older girl forward into a nasty uppercut on the chin before homing in with a left overhand on the temple that sinks Jankovic on jelly knees and makes her yelp in pain. Another vicious left hook finds the nose and stacks the Serbian in the corner but Kirilenko reaches the promise land by wrenching her on the navel and adding one more uppercut on the boobs which renders Jelena breathless AND TAKING A KNEE for a much needed respite. Maria yells out to pump herself up further and Jelena gives her a classic death stare but gets up at eight and jumps into an aggressive stance trying to upstage the dominating Russian. However she gets belted against the boobs again and has to take cover with Maria raining punches along the ropes to keep the Serbian completely shut out come the bell.

Round 4:
More Russian pressure as Kirilenko tries to break her opponent for good but Jelena finally shows some nifty footwork to escape the danger and fends the blonde off in mid distance forcing a hassled approach thereafter. However Maria struggles for accuracy and allows Jelena to settle in the hitherto absent counterpunching drill which enables her to strike some solid shots from behind the guard and slow the younger girl down. Kirilenko groans in frustration but has to accept this fight ain't coming to an end anytime soon and she's clearly frustrated when the bell halts the otherwise low-key action in the latter half of the contest.

Round 5:
Jankovic still looks relatively fresh despite losing the first three rounds on the spin and she teases the blonde into another fruitless pursuit early in the fifth to gain more confidence now that she seemingly weathered the worst of it. She settles into single strikes and as Kirilenko gets more annoyed in her efforts to restore the dominance there are more holes appearing especially when the Russian lowers her right hand too much at times. Jelena waits for the obvious strike and bumps her foe off before adding some clinching moments to disrupt the rhythm and she largely keeps the blonde at bay which might not be good enough to convince the judges but do wonders to her recovery plans.

Round 6:
Maria finally closes in on a trigger-happy body assault but Jelena leans on her and answers with a scything combo upstairs that nails the blonde on the nose and makes her knees buckle. Like it or not, she has to get out of there and almost loses her footing staring at the brunette in shock. And Jelena drives in from the left clocking Maria on the temple and jumping into a rare pursuit around the ring. Kirilenko struggles for balance and wobbles back to the ropes which is enough for the Serbian to slice the guard up the middle and crack some fine jabs on the chin sagging the younger girl in the proccess. Kirilenko struggles to fight back and has to weave around on her feet but her defence is far from ideal and Jankovic nails her a few times on the brow ridge stamping her authority on the action which leaves the blonde gobsmacked at the bell. Gobsmacked but not exactly worried yet.

Round 7:
Maria charges ahead with more mean strikes but Jelena shuts her down in mid distance while looping overhands from the back foot and repeatedly landing them on the blonde's brow ridges. Kirilenko begins to wear out much sooner than before and already before the two minute mark she winces in visible fatigue having lost quite a lot of energy in the previous chase. And here's where the counterpuncher's physical shape comes to the fore allowing Jelena to stagger her foe with a quick slant from the left that bursts the gloves deep into Maria's face and is followed by a nifty harpoon on the liver area. Maria wobbles forward and finds a vicious uppercut cutting her up on the left cheek but Jankovic runs out of time to inflict more damage aside from another hook on the nose that dumps a tired looking Russian against the turnbuckle.

Round 8:
Jankovic ups the tempo and takes full advantage of the Russian's energy supply issues; she bats through the guard at will and slams more jabs on the cheeks leaving Kirilenko to cover up and just strike with the left hand in cumbersome fashion. A ripping uppercut on the chin has Jelena leaning forward and crashing more punches from point blank range but she adds the all important stinger on the liver area to make Maria scream and lose all her focus. A hectic escape is not good enough to prevent the looming Serbian rush and while Kirilenko tries to find her feet SHE GETS NAILED with a left hand on the nose and sags on her knees with eyes closed in the middle of the ring. Jankovic clips her chin to wobble her to the side and there's no guard to speak of anymore when she smashes a left cross on the chin REELING MARIA DOWN ON HER BACKSIDE moments later... that's a bitter pill to swallow for the Russian who aches and yelps while beating the count at seven and she looks quite wasted here while Jelena ponders her destruction plans. Kirilenko fends off the late barrage to live another round but still eats a couple of big hooks on the chin and slumps on her stool clearly in need of a miracle to survive the Serbian comeback.

Round 9:
Maria barely makes it ouf of her corner for the ninth but looks all chewed up and has nothing in the tank to prevent the Jankovic rush who spikes her on the liver area and staggers in the middle of the ring seconds into the contest; she predictably lowers her arms to cover up the aching guts but she's too slow to react for a looming switch upstairs and has Jankovic drilling her jaw with a one-two rapid fire. Blonde screams out and sinks on her knees just trying to clinch the brunette but Jelena slips out of her grasp and slams a left hook on the ear THAT CHOPS THE RUSSIAN DOWN on the spot... Maria collapses flat on her face and aches out with eyes closed and this time her demise is terminal... she gets up on all fours but spits out her mouthguard and shakes her head as the count passes her by... KO9 Jelena Jankovic!!!

AFTER: That's a real waste for the blonde who looked in total control early in the fight before allowing Jelena back into contention with a classic lack of a finishing strike. But that's what the counterpunchers thrive on, give them one last opportunity and they'll make you pay. Jankovic was in serious trouble often before especially when fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic exposed her badly at the Australian Open but even Maria Sharapova could only enforce a split decision back in the day. Kirilenko couldn't replace the lack of killer punch with a superior fitness either and duly ended the fight face down on the canvas which seriously dents her hopes of making noise in the community next season. And Jankovic's durable enough after turning 30 years old to outlast some of the promising newcomers born in the 90s. WTA hasn't seen the last of her just yet even if she keeps hanging around only to annoy Ivanovic in the bitter Serbian battle for national attention.

Final result: Jelena Jankovic def. Maria Kirilenko KO9.