Ana Ivanovic squeezes into Brisbane quarterfinals

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Wilson Blade 9

Ana IvanovicTop seed Ana Ivanovic had been on the verge of defeat by Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci in the second round of the Brisbane International, before reaching the quarterfinals with a 6-7(4) 7-5 6-1 win. Ivanovic had to save match points in this encounter that lasted more than two and a half hours.

The world No.82 Vinci broke Ivanovic’s serve in the fifth game, and had a set point at 5-4. The Roland Garros champion Ivanovic managed to level, but eventually lost the set in the tiebreak.

In the second set, Vinci was again the first one to break her opponent’s serve, for a 3-1 lead. Even though Ivanovic broke back immediately, she was still struggling and faced two match points when serving at 4-5, 15-40. The 21-year-old Serb saved both, won nine of the remaining ten games, and with them the match.

“I’m glad I hung in there to the end and believed in myself,” said Ivanovic. “I just kept thinking about all the hard work I put in during the last few weeks and I didn’t want to lose here this early.

Ana Ivanovic will face fifth seed Amelie Mauresmo in the Brisbane International quarterfinals, which will be their eighth career meeting. Mauresmo advanced by beating fellow Frenchwoman Julie Coin 5-7 6-2 7-6(11). (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

5 COMMENTS

  1. Hmm… I wonder if Ana’s busy schedule before the Australian Open is an indication that she spent too much time off court and now needs to squeeze in a lot of match play.

    I call this the Verdasco Distraction!

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