Short grass season makes Wimbledon tough: Jankovic

For Jelena Jankovic, the need to adapt quickly to grass and the short run-in to the surface's biggest tournament means Wimbledon is the toughest grand slam of them all to win.

The former world number one, still seeking her first slam title, has never made it beyond the fourth round at the world's most famous tennis tournament.

There was no disguising the relief in the voice of the fourth seed after she dispatched British teenager Laura Robson 6-3, 7-6 on Monday to advance to the second round.

"I had trouble today returning," the personable Serbian said after her Centre Court encounter before a vocally patriotic British crowd.

"It's my first match on grass and she's a lefty player. So she gave me a really hard time," she said.

Jankovic, who this year passed the $10 million barrier in prize money won, is still grappling with the intricacies of grass.

"It's a totally different game. The points are very short, there's really not much time for anything. Whoever gets the first strike most likely wins the point," she said.

Janovic, 25, has achieved the coveted number one slot without ever winning any of the top tournaments.

Asked which was the most elusive, she laughed and said "Probably this one. Especially for me, I didn't have much time to practice on grass.

"You know I didn't play any warm-up tournament before this. So today was my first match. It's never easy. It is a completely different game."