Jelena Jankovic captured her second title of the year in Beijing on Sunday following a comprehensive victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova. It capped off a wonderful week for the Serbian, who defeated three players inside the world’s top 20 on the way to this triumph.

Jankovic was beaten by Kuznetsova the previous week in Tokyo but there were no signs of a repeat this time around. Jankovic had not won a title since the clay court season (Rome in May) but reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open and will now look towards the rest of the season in hope of ending the year as world No.1.

Having recently reached the pinnacle of the women’s game only to be quickly displaced, the desire to hit such heights again has to be a motivating factor for the remainder of 2008. Jankovic claimed the title for the loss of just one set in the tournament – to Vera Zvonareva in the last eight.

For Kuznetsova it was a familiar story. The former US Open champion, who recently spearheaded another Russian Fed Cup success, is 0-5 in finals this year. This unwanted record has come by virtue of final defeats to Justine Henin, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanovic, Dinara Safina and now Jankovic.

There is absolutely no disgrace in losing to any of those players, but Kuznetsova will be bitterly disappointed not to have claimed at least a couple of titles over the course of the season thus far. All of Kuznetsova’s final defeats have come on hard courts.

If only Ivanovic could make a final! The Serbian pin-up has been in poor form ever since winning her first Grand Slam at the French Open. Injury has played a part, but for most part, she just hasn’t coped well with being at the very top of the game and all the expectation that comes with it.

There is no doubt that Ivanovic is going to be a top player for years to come, but there will have to be an adjustment within her from a mental aspect to better cope with the ever-mounting expectation on her.

Ivanovic is one of a number of players who could end the year as world No.1, although in her present form it’s hard to see her doing so. Ana was beaten in Beijing by Jie Zheng, who also defeated her at Wimbledon this year. This followed on from a disappointing showing in Tokyo in which she was soundly thrashed by Nadia Petrova in the deciding set.

It’s clear that confidence is currently an issue and that only comes with notching up a few wins and building momentum. It will be interesting to see what Ivanovic can make of the rest of the season and how that might set her up for 2009.

WTA action continues this week in Stuttgart, Tokyo and Tashkent.