Charleroi (Belgium), Feb 4: Jelena Jankovic beat Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 7-5 Saturday to give Serbia a 1-0 lead over Belgium in the first round of the Fed Cup.
Former No. 1 Jankovic showed her experience late in the opening set to force a first break of serve against the 176th-ranked Flipkens, and kept the momentum going through the early part of the second to lead 4-2.
However, she let Flipkens back in the match and even had to save two set points before pushing through for the straight-set win and Serbia's first point.
Belgium was favored to draw level late Saturday when 29th-ranked Yanina Wickmayer played Bojana Jovanovski, 76 places below her in the WTA rankings.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters decided to sit out the opening round, while Serbia is without former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.
