Jankovic now a diet expert (French Open diary)

PARIS - Jelena Jankovic, never short of an opinion, is now somewhat of an expert on dieting after shedding six kilos.

Jankovic had slightly overdone her off-season bulking-up to build muscles. But now that the svelte Serb is back to her optimum fighting weight, she is willing to dispense tips. In fact, she now has a few extra bits of nutritional information to dish out after a luncheon with Serbian president Boris Tadic at the French Open.

“Did you know if you eat fruit after the meal you get fat - but not in the morning,” said Jankovic, who revealed that the political leader gave her that jewel of knowledge. “If you eat it late in the afternoon or in the evening, it turns into fat. That’s sugar. This is something I heard for the first time.”

The number five said that she feels much better on court after losing the weight which she gained during a December programme of high-altitude training and weights in Mexico.

“I think you burn much more calories when you play a match an hour and a half than when you practice for three or four hours, because of all those nerves you have playing.”

And there is another hidden benefit of her new regime: “I’ve been eating a lot of chocolates, as well, and I kind of lost weight. So I don’t know what it is, what kind of metabolism it is.”

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Sharapova happy with her comeback

Maria Sharapova believes her comeback from a shoulder injury couldn’t be better after reaching the last 16 stage of the French Open for a sixth consecutive year.

“Especially this year, I’m just thrilled to be here and sit here,” said the former number one currently ranked 102 after not playing since last August.

“Every single result, no matter how easy or tough, I learned so much from it. I’ve had really difficult matches here, and I had really exciting ones as well.”

While her game best matches up to faster courts after winning Wimbledon, the US and Australian Opens, Sharapova does not discount her chances on clay after playing the Roland Garros semi-finals two years ago.

“Even though it’s a challenge playing here, I really enjoy it. I have a lot of respect for the tournament. It has so much history and so much tradition. I certainly want to be one of the girls holding the trophy one day.”