The first matches of the 2009 Australian Open didn’t offer three-set thrillers in the women’s portion of the tournament, but less than four hours into the year’s first Grand Slam event, one could say with a certain degree of confidence that the two Serbian “Vitches,” Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, are headed in distinctly different directions.

Yes, it’s true that both players won their first-round matches in straight sets. It’s also reasonable to conclude that top players don’t spill the tank at the beginning of a two-week march to a major championship. The big guns and the A-games come out at the start of the second week, not on day one.

With all that having been said, anyone who saw these two matches would have found it impossible to think that Ivanovic and Jankovic enjoy competitive parity at the present moment. Ana Ivanovic, the No. 5 seed, looked like an unseeded player in her lackluster 7-5, 6-3 win over Germany’s Julia Goerges, while No. 1 Jankovic showed the attitude of a top seed in an authoritative 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Austria’s Yvonne Meusburger. Two straight-set scorelines hardly told the whole story on the show courts of Melbourne Park.

In the first match of the day at Hisense Arena, formerly known as Vodafone Arena, Ivanovic became a pale imitation of the player who reached last year’s Aussie final and won the French Open.

The ratio of winners to unforced errors says a lot about the respective strengths of two competitors, locked in mortal combat on a brutally hot 93-degree (Fahrenheit) day. In this match, Ivanovic found it hard to outclass her opponent. Both women hit 17 winners, but Goerges possessed the harder groundstrokes. The German provided far more pace than her opponent, so much so that Ivanovic assumed a passive position in most baseline rallies. Goerges hit the ball with a lot more sting than Ivanovic did, and that has to be a major source of concern for anyone who wants to be a regular Grand Slam title contender.

Ivanovic ultimately won this match without superior shotmaking ability. In the end, the difference was that the Serb possessed a better handle on her nerves, a function of Grand Slam match experience.

While Goerges displayed occasional flashes of brilliance, the German challenger committed 33 errors, posting a winner-error differential of minus-16. Ivanovic’s one virtue in this sloppy slugfest was her ability to ride out Goerges, absorb the German’s erratic power, and eventually force an error in a rally. Sometimes, elite players win not by overwhelming the competitor on the other side of the net, but by playing solid defense and allowing an opponent to implode. That’s what happened on Monday afternoon, as Goerges felt the weight of the occasion in pressure-cooker moments.

In the first set, Goerges gained a break lead (3-1), but couldn’t maintain high-level consistency. When serving to force a first-set tiebreak at 5-6, Goerges couldn’t handle the heat… and that’s not a reference to the weather. Overwhelmed at the prospect of taking a tennis superstar to a tiebreak, the German lost focus. Two overcooked forehands gifted points to Ivanovic, who broke Goerges to take the first set, 7-5.

In the second set, old demon pressure got to Goerges once again. Serving at 3-4, 30-all, Goerges double faulted to give Ivanovic a break point that was promptly converted. More balky play on hugely significant points prevented Goerges from taking this match to a third set. As much of a reputation as Ivanovic already has, one didn’t get the sense that the outcome was a foregone conclusion until the Serb broke for a 5-3 lead in the second set. Until then, an unheralded player had every opportunity to pull off an upset. Ivanovic labored far too much in a match that lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes, which is unusually long for a top player in the first round of a slam. If last year’s runner-up had been on her game, there’s no way Julia Goerges could have turned this match into the war it became. From her groundies to her ball toss to her serve, Ivanovic has a lot to work on as she prepares for round two.

For the other “Vitch,” Jelena Jankovic, a straight-set first round win looked like a sign of future conquests. Jankovic–bearer of the No. 1 ranking in the women’s game despite the lack of a slam title–suggested that she might be able to win this event. Her decisive thumping of Meusburger in Rod Laver Arena–achieved in a tidy 69 minutes– represented a portrait of an athlete intent on taking care of business. Jankovic rolled to a 5-0 lead in the first set, and was never really threatened.

The money stat of this match, in comparison with Ivanovic-Goerges, is that Jankovic hit more winners (27) than unforced errors (24). Jankovic’s plus-3 towered over Ivanovic’s minus-13 differential (17 winners, 30 errors), a clear sign that Jankovic is hitting shots and constructing points with a lot more conviction and confidence than her fellow countrywoman. While Ivanovic was content to make Goerges self-destruct, Jankovic stormed Meusburger from the start. Shellshocked by the power of the world No. 1, the Austrian underdog managed just 4 winners. On offense and defense, Jankovic dictated the tempo of her first-round victory.

Looking ahead, the one saving grace for Ivanovic is that she doesn’t have a terribly difficult opponent in the next two rounds. While her current form will leave her vulnerable to anyone she plays, it’s also true that Ivanovic could sneak through the next few days without playing high-level tennis. But if there’s no radical change in the way Ana Ivanovic carries herself on court, there’s little chance of a repeat run to the Aussie Open final.

Jankovic, on the other hand, seems primed to make a deep run. Her body seems stronger, and the stomach ailment of the previous week appears to be a thing of the past. Given that the Williams sisters reside in the other half of the draw, Jankovic could very well reach the final and contend for her first Grand Slam trophy.