La Mesa’s Liu Falls Short in Acura Classic Debut

Twenty-year-old Amber Liu of La Mesa tried to comeback twice in her Acura Classic first round match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia & Montenegro, but fell short in losing 7-6(4), 6-0, in one-hour and 16-minutes.

Liu, a two-time NCAA singles champion, fell behind 5-2 in the first set before reeling off four straight games to take a 6-5 lead. The set went to a tiebreak as Jankovic broke her serve.

In the tiebreaker, Jankovic took a 6-1 lead, but once again, Liu, who is an amateur, came back and won three straight points to make the score 6-4 before Jankovic clinched the tiebreaker.

Jankovic completely dominated the second set in winning 6-0 as she lost just six points. She did not lose any points in her three service games.

In her second-round match, Jankovic will have a tough challenge as she takes on top-seeded Serena Williams in a encounter scheduled for Tuesday’s day session.

“I think I had an opportunity, I’m kind of disappointed, it kind of slipped by me,” said Liu, who entered the tournament as a wildcard.

“I’m more disappointed in the second set. I didn’t have as much drive as I did in the first set. I got a little bit frustrated,” she added. “I think it was a good experience overall.”

• Jankovic is playing in the Acura Classic for the first time.
• Jankovic is ranked 49 in the world.
• Jankovic is now 2-0 against Liu in career head-to-head meetings. She defeated Liu in three sets in their only other meeting last year in Philadelphia.
• Liu was making her Acura Classic debut.
• Liu is ranked 334 in the world.

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