Jankovic, who never has reached a Grand Slam singles final, will become the 18th player to lead the WTA computer rankings when she rises to the top spot Aug. 11.
Currently No. 2, Jankovic will move ahead of another Serb, Ana Ivanovic, who has led the rankings since June 9, the day after winning the French Open. Ivanovic beat Jankovic in the semifinals at Roland Garros with the No. 1 ranking at stake.
According to the ranking projections released by the tour Saturday, Jankovic will have 3,620 points to Ivanovic’s 3,612 on Aug. 11.
On Friday, Jankovic thought she had wasted a chance to take over at No. 1 by losing in straight sets to unseeded Dominika Cibulkova in Montreal.
“At the moment I don’t deserve that spot,” Jankovic said after the upset loss. “I am not in the best shape; I am not at my highest level. So it will take time for me to get better.”
She added: “The No. 1 spot doesn’t matter.”
Jankovic apparently had a change of heart, because in the tour’s statement announcing her impending rise in the rankings, she is quoted as saying: “Since I was a young girl, it’s been my dream to become No. 1 in the world.”
The change in the women’s rankings comes at the same time that Rafael Nadal is finally poised to overtake Roger Federer on the men’s side.
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