Jankovic Fuses Football With Tennis

MADRID, Spain - Tennis isn't the only thing on the elite eight's mind this week at the Sony Ericsson Championships - well, not on its own, anyway. On a Saturday night in Seville, Jelena Jankovic took part in a world first with the help of Sony Ericsson - a tennis match during half time at the Sevilla FC versus Real Madrid football match.

World No.3 Jankovic, who is playing at the Sony Ericsson Championships for the very first time this year, was whisked from Madrid to Seville on Saturday for an evening of activities. First she took part in a meet and greet with Sevilla FC president José María del Nido. She then met with former Sevilla FC star Pablo Alfaro before a makeshift court was created and a packed house would witness history in the making.

The court was created on the field out of banners with Sony Ericsson logos and all the equipment needed, including even an umpire's chair. At half time it was time to give the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium's capacity crowd a show that would go down in the record books as Jankovic and Alfaro proceeded to hit some tennis balls in front of 45,500 fans. Jankovic also took the time to hit some autographed tennis balls into the stands.

Sevilla FC eventually emerged with a 2-0 home victory over Real Madrid, which is the No.1 team in the Primera Liga, Spain's top division.

Jankovic has been one of the hottest players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this year, winning over 70 matches and going from outside of the world's Top 10 at the beginning of the season to her current ranking of No.3 in a hurry. She has claimed four titles, including Charleston and Rome, both Tier I venues. She will play her first round robin match on Wednesday in Madrid.