Jelena Jankovic. Photographer: Ian Walton/Getty Images

Informed that she would face “a Thai girl” for a place in the last eight, Jelena Jankovic replied: “Tiger? Tiger who? Tiger Woods?” There were no drivers in evidence, but there was clubbing aplenty as the cull of the women’s seeds continued with Jankovic, the second seed, battered into submission by Tamarine Tanasugarn, the world No60, 6-3, 6-2.

Against an opponent who forced her to cover almost every blade of the Court 18 grass, Jankovic, the world No3, was woefully short of her best. The Serb made 19 unforced errors, hit five double faults and created just two break points. Her defeat, which follows hard on the heels of early exits for Ana Ivanovic, the the world No1, and former champion Maria Sharapova means that, for the first time in history, none of the top three ladies will feature in the last eight at the All England Club.

In mitigation, Jankovic, like Woods, is suffering from a knee problem, sustained during Saturday’s three-set win over Polish teenager Caroline Wozniacki. Her movement was impeded and her distress palpable as any hope of remaining on course for a maiden grand slam title - and with it, the world No1 ranking - slowly unravelled.

It is easy to feel sympathy for Jankovic, a likeable character whose assault on the majors has been repeatedly undermined by injury this year. A buttock injury hampered her progress in Australia, while the swollen arm she suffered in Paris had her likening herself to Popeye. Yet there is no excuse for ignorance.

Tanasugarn, a former junior Wimbledon finalist, has enjoyed some of her best results on grass. She won the Ordina Open in the build-up to Wimbledon, beating recent French Open finalist Dinara Safina in the final, and has reached the fourth round at the All England Club six times, her best record in the majors by a distance.

If Jankovic knew nothing about the Thai veteran before, she does now. Jankovic was a set behind in 36 minutes as Tanasugarn intelligently exploited the angles, pulling the Serb out of court before closing down the net behind some hefty ground strokes. Having missed a break point at 2-1 down in the second when Tanasugarn capped a beautifully crafted baseline exchange with a forehand drive volley, Jankovic, helped by a superb topspin backhand lob, retrieved a break at 4-1. But when she opened the next game with a double fault, Tanasugarn required no further invitation, breaking again before serving out to reach her first quarter final.

Tanasugarn will now face defending champion Venus Williams, who came through 6-3, 6-4 against Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova. Williams was 5-1 up in the second set before a belated show of defiance from the 18-year-old set up an entertaining finale.

About this articleCloseThis article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Monday June 30 2008. It was last updated at 14:53 on June 30 2008.

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