When it went whizzing past her opponent - untouched - the Victoria Park crowd let out a collective gasp. And Jankovic looked to the heavens for an answer.

None was coming, not then and not for the rest of the night.

World number six Williams powered past her opponent 6-2, 6-2, levelling up Team Americas' clash with Team Europe 1-1 in the opening round of the JB Group Classic 2009.

Her Argentine teammate Gisela Dulko later capped a good night for the Americas', rallying past midnight to down Agnes Szavay 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3 and lift her team into the Gold Group Final. There they will meet the Vera Zvronareva-led Team Russia, who did not lose a match against Team Asia Pacific.

The previous night Williams had partnered youngster Coco Vandeweghe but lost a tight match 6-4, 7-5 to Jankovic and Michelle Larcher de Brito. She came out last night determined to sets things right.

'I wanted to get a win after that doubles loss that was so close,' said the American. 'We just needed a little more time [the night before] but it ran out.

'[Tonight] I had a good start and I think it put some pressure on her. I also wasn't giving her the errors that I usually give her.'

Williams had an extended break from the game before coming back to Hong Kong (she is the reigning JB Group Classic singles title-holder). She says she is fit and she is happy - and she is looking to accomplish big things in 2009.

'I'm feeling fresh,' said the 28-year-old. 'I'm not surprised because I've always been a good player off the jump. I've never played a lot of big warm-up events or tons of tournaments. I have a great feeling about this year. I have a great feeling about my life and life in general. So it's across the board.'

As Jankovic can attest, that feeling is also ominous for her opponents. Williams worked some stunning forehands past her opponent and the match would have been sealed far more quickly if not for some stubborn resistance from the Serb in the sixth game of the first set, with Williams leading 4-1.

Jankovic managed to extend that game to 15 minutes of play as she fought to hold off Williams' charge - an eternity considering the entire set only lasted 40 minutes. The Team Europe captain later put her sluggish start down to an increase in body mass after an arduous pre-season training camp in Mexico.

'I got a little bit bigger and I also have more kilos than I used to have, so for me it is a little bit different,' said the 23-year-old Jankovic. 'I'm not used to it at the moment and it takes time for me to get used to my new body, this stronger Jelena. I hope I will get better and better as I play more matches. 'You could see it was very, very slow out there and my reactions were quite slow,' she said. 'I have jet lag and so many things come into play. But I hope to get better and better. I'm here to get match tough again and that's what I want from this competition.'

Williams finished her night off saying it was important just to get the win. 'You know, I'm never satisfied and sometimes in the past that has been my downfall,' she explained.

'It was never good enough for me so then I'd lose a match that I shouldn't because I was too hard on myself.'