The Serbian, a semifinalist last year, received medical attention to an injured right wrist after the fifth game of the second set, but recovered her composure to win 6-2 7-6 in an hour and 51 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

“It happened I think somewhere in the beginning of the second set and gradually was getting worse and worse,” Jankovic told reporters. “The balls were a little bit heavier because the weather is humid and the court is wet.

“It’s swollen at the moment, and it got swollen in the match. I received treatment from the trainer, and she helped me to finish the match, and I’m glad about that.”

Jankovic looked to be cruising against her Croatian-born opponent but felt a twinge in her arm after a bruising rally.

She broke immediately after the medical timeout for a 4-2 lead but Erakovic, the Kiwi number one playing in her first Grand Slam event, hit back and served for the set at 6-5.

Jankovic levelled with another break and took the tiebreak 7-5 to set up a clash with Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova in the third round.