Bewildered Kvitova humbled by resurgent Jankovic

By Ken Ferris LONDON (Reuters) - Petra Kvitova's reign as Wimbledon champion ended on Saturday against a former world number one who upset the form book to register a shock third-round victory on a sun-drenched Centre Court. The bemused twice champion could not find the answers to 30-year-old Serbian Jelena Jankovic's inspired shot-making and must now lick her wounds for the hardcourt season ahead, knowing her best chance of winning a grand slam this year has probably gone. World number two Kvitova had looked in imperious form after dispatching her two previous opponents for the loss of three games but Jankovic is made of sterner stuff and after the Czech took the first set and led 4-2 she surprisingly crumbled. The holder's decision-making let her down, highlighted by the decision to lodge a challenge when leading 30-15 on Jankovic's serve at 4-4 in the second set only to discover her opponent's shot was in. "I took a challenge because I really thought it was out. That surprised me unfortunately in a bad way," the disappointed 25-year-old second seed told a news conference after losing 3-6 7-5 6-4. "It was still 30-all and it was a good chance to break. But unfortunately she served well and I didn't make it," Kvitova added, knowing it was a turning point she struggled to recover from. Kvitova was not helped by having two easy matches against opponents who had barely made her sweat despite the soaring temperatures at the All England Club, although she refused to use that as an excuse for her stuttering performance. Asked if that was the reason for her display, she said: "No, I don't think so. I was really prepared for it. From the beginning of the match I felt in a good way and I was really feeling the shots pretty well. "Suddenly I was just missing it. So it was really unusual or weird. I can't really explain how. But it is how it is. I think she was really trying to go for it and playing more aggressively," added Kvitova. "She has a really great serve so it was tough to return and break her in the second half of the match. I was still waiting for a chance and it didn't come unfortunately." (Editing by Tony Jimenez)