While Djokovic was beating Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-3 in the men’s singles to level the match, an MRI scan of Jankovic’s upper right leg showed that she had not torn her hamstring. She then decided to play the mixed doubles. Jankovic limped during the final match and couldn’t go after wide shots at the back of the court.

She also had her upper right leg taped, and left the court several times during the match to have the strapping replaced. But she seemed to improve later in the match, and Serbia won 5-7, 6-4 and 10-4 in the match tiebreaker.

Djokovic praised Jankovic for her decision to continue playing. “I was trying to run all over the place but even (though) she played on one foot we have to give her credit,” Djokovic said. The win left Serbia with a 2-0 record while France dropped to 1-1.

Serbia, which has a strong chance of advancing to Friday’s final, plays Argentina in its last round-robin match on Thursday, while France plays Taiwan.

The results: Group A: Serbia bt France 2-1 (Jelena Jankovic lost to Tatiana Golovin 0-1, retd.; Novak Djokovic bt Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-3; Jankovic & Djokovic bt Golovin & Clement 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4).

Taiwan bt Argentina 3-0 (Hsieh Su-wei bt Gisela Dulko 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5; Lu Yen-hsun bt Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-4; Hsieh / Lu bt Dulko / Chela 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4). — Agencies

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