There were a few surprises at the Jiangxi Women's Tennis Open in Nanchang. Second seed Zheng Saisai was booted out by Junri Namigata in straight sets and just recently, fourth seed Hsieh Su-Wei was toppled by Chang Kai-Chen. Though there are a few seeds remaining in the draw, it could possibly be a tournament sweep for former world no. 1 Jelena Jankovic who's looking for her first title of the year.

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But will the top ranked Serb leave her mark this time despite losing in the first round of the Istanbul Cup?

Just a few weeks ago, Jankovic gave the world a surprise run at Wimbledon, defeating defending champion Petra Kvitova in a tight 3-set match. She also showed notable performances in the grass courts of Netherlands and in Indian Wells where she reached the finals before losing to the third seed Simona Halep. The rest of the year, however, was not so good for the 30-year-old who has yet to win a grand slam. But Jiangxi can be a turning point for Jankovic as she prepares for a good run at the US Open which begins next month.

Jankovic's first round opponent is Riko Sawayanagi of Japan. Both have never met before and it looks on paper that the 2008 US Open finalist will clinch the match easily. But a victory remains to be seen given Jankovic's record this year and her performance against unseeded players.

Yet, Jankovic needs this win to boost her confidence as she heads to North America in the next few weeks. If she's able to handle the pressure and control her emotions, which plays a key role in almost all of her matches, she may just cruise through to the finals. And she has a lot to be thankful for with some of the top seeds bowing out early.

Chang took care of Hsieh in just a little over an hour with a 6-3 6-3 victory against the former World no. 23.

"I think Hsieh Su-Wei is a very strong opponent, so I had to be very careful not to let my level drop at any point," said Chang as reported by the WTA website. "But I know I can still play better. I won this game today, I'm pretty happy, and I hope to take the momentum into the next match."

Chang will next face Zhang Kai-Lin who beat Russian Ekaterina Bychkova in straight sets.

Third seed Wang Qiang, meanwhile, had an easy match against Jang Su Jeong winning 6-3 6-2 while fifth seed Duan Ying-Ying stormed past Alison Bai with a 6-2 6-1 victory.

TagsJelena Jankovic, jiangxi womens tennis open, china tennis, wta scores, jankovic in china, jiangxi tennis, jiangxi tennis scores, chang kai-chen, Hsieh Su-wei, nanchang tennis