Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, former champion and last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva emerged as winners of the third round on Wednesday at the U.S. Open.

The second-seeded Jankovic beat Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 in 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Jankovic, who held the No. 1 ranking for one week just two weeks ago, seemed to be sailing smoothly on Day 3, up a set and serving for the match at 5-4 in the second, till she was confronted by Arvidsson.

Swede won a second-set tiebreak despite falling behind 0-3 in the extra session. Arvidsson went on to win six straight points, grabbed a 6-3 advantage in the tiebreak and forced a third set three points later. But Jankovic ultimately prevailed in a very tight third set.

Kuznetsova was tested in the first set before ultimately reaching a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 decision against Romanian Sorana Cirstea at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Dementieva continued her current winning streak to win her eight match with a 6-2, 6-1 thrashing of France's Pauline Parmentier.