Kuznetsova upset, Ivanovic out of Indian Wells and Top 50

24
Wilson Blade 9

Ana IvanovicTop seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 4-6 6-1, who earned her second Top 10 win, having famously beaten then-No.6 Venus Williams at last year’s Australian Open. Kuznetsova came back from a set and a break down to force the third set, but lost it very quickly and became the first No.1 seed in eight years to lose her first match at Indian Wells, since 2002 when Kim Clijsters fell to now-retired Nathalie Dechy.

Ana Ivanovic, seeded 24th this year, was defeated 6-2 6-4 by world No.63 Anastasija Sevastova in the second round, and Ivanovic won’t be even a Top 50 player any more. The Serb hired a new coach, the former one of tennis legend Steffi Graf, but the light at the end of the tunnel is still nowhere to be seen.

Two-time Indian Wells champion Kim Clijsters defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-1, while seed No.21 Daniela Hantuchova, another former champion in this year’s draw, suffered a 6-3 7-5 upset by Roberta Vinci. (photo: Tidalist)

24 COMMENTS

  1. She is living in an illusion that she is a better player today than she was yesterday!

    Stop lying to yourself and either quit tennis and do something more productive in your life, or get your focus and game back!

    I adore Anci, I’ve always been for her wherever she played…but I doubt that I can support her any longer. She needs help!

  2. Ana acts like a beginner on court, she have zero confidence, nobody fears playing against anymore. i can’t believe she used to reach grand slam finals only 2 years ago.

  3. Poor Ana. 🙁

    I think she has finally hit the bottom. She really can only go up from here. Come on Ana, come back and stick it to your haters and doubters and dont ever let them for get it!

  4. I think we’re not allowed to criticize Ana, we can state what is obvious, that her career has almost shattered, but we can’t give ourselves the right to blame her. However, I think she hit the bottom some time ago, and is now stuck in the mud and I feel there is space for her to get even more stuck, but I hope she’ll find her way out some day. I can’t accept that it’s over with Ana.

  5. Yeah, Marija, I think you’re right. She must be feeling terrible right now and I think it’s easy to criticise when you are not in her shoes. She’s been pretty average so far but the season is not over and she deserves the respect at least for past achievements. She can still bounce back from this, she has a new coach so if she listens to him I think she may get back to her previous form.

  6. We’re always expecting the next tournament to be the one of Ana’s revival and it never happens. I think Ana needs space from other people’s opinions, because her own head is enough pressure for her.

  7. She was overhyped after RG and when reality sat in she couldnt handle the pressure.She should overhaul her on court behaviour starting with the silly fist pumps that are not helping her at all.She should gain weight and stop travelling with her mother who appears to be very cold.Sven was good to her and they won RG together.She should go back to the basics,no groupies just Ana,her trainer and coach thats all.

  8. I used to be a huge Ana Ivanovic fan. However, she just doesn’t seem to have a clue what to do anymore. IMO, she needs to take a couple years off from tennis and stop embarrassing herself out there.

    Btw, anyone notice Ana’s new site design doesn’t show her ranking anymore?

  9. Caps321, good observation about the website, I doubt they did that because it’s not fitting in the new design. 😛

  10. Oh, that is sooo pity. Ana can´t accept loosing and it´s very very bad. Also in highlights made by her website, there are just her best points and then it looks like the opponent was not even there. I am very afraid of her, especially after I heard about Vaidisova´s retirement.

  11. It’s a bad loss for her, but by no means a surprising one considering that Sevastova beat JJ in Monterrey. Eventually her game will come back, she can’t be expected to play well at the flick of a switch anyway. If you look at the careers of the great players of the last few years, they have all had some very difficult periods in their careers, due to injury or due to lapses like the one Ana is in now. Serena, Clijsters, Henin, Sharapova, Seles and countless others have dropped outside the top 50 or even worse, the top 100 and have managed to resurrect their careers, so I still do think there is hope for Ana. The best thing she can do is to stick with her new coach as I think he will be a big help to her in times of difficulty like this one. To me there is a cycle in tennis: you go from making your way up the rankings to breaking through and playing brilliantly for a period. The losses start to come then and it gets harder to win the easier matches you were winning before, because other players are trying harder to beat you. It’s the way that you deal with these hard times that defines your career. All of the best players have gone through tough periods like Ana, even if hers has lasted significantly longer than it should have. Eventually the player that she was once will re-emerge, but the longer this goes on the harder it gets. She will be back sometime, we just don’t know when. She’s too good a player not to.

  12. Bróna, love your thorough explanation, especially the comparison with the careers of tennis greats. It sure is consoling and makes sense, although I’m sure people will argue that Ana is not in the same category with Seles, Serena, Henin and Sharapova. However, I think the same principle could be applied.

  13. i don’t know if they just put it back, but Ana’s ranking is on her site, it says “current ranking no 28”

  14. I think it’s sad people are willing to write Ana off so easily. I saw past few matches she lost and by no means she was playing miserably. Actually, they were some pretty tough matches. In Brisbane she was beaten by Henin (need to say more?), in the AO she went into 3 sets and there were some very very bad calls in that match against her and as Brona said her last opponent is no pushover, in fact Indian Wells 2010 is a feast of the underdogs. Almost all the favourites are out early, not just Ana!

  15. If we are a bit severe with Ana it’s only because we love her, i think we should stop finding her excuses, she deserves much more than just being happy for losing against Henin. After she defeated Ana at RG final, Henin stopped playing, didn’t Ana progress at all ever since then ?! For me Ana is definitely in the same category with Sharapova, Clijsters… her problem is that she doesn’t seem to be aware of it.

  16. I don’t think Ana is in the same category as Maria and Kim. Both of them are still solid top 20 players whereas Anna is falling out of the top 50.

  17. Yassine, oh yes, Ana progressed after Henin’s departure. She won the French Open against Safina and funnily enough,it was Justine herself who presented her with the trophy 🙂

  18. Ana is not injured thats what is worrying,she is losing because she over analyzes her situation.
    Ana should not be in the same sentence as the sisters,Seles or Steffi. She is just overhyped because of her looks.

  19. Fyoto, Ana’s looks are mentioned too much, but her on-court results are not to be underestimated. But I agree, she still hasn’t reached the category of the Williamses, Seles and Graf. About the injuries, yes, the main problem is in her head, but a lot of different injuries have their share in the head problem.

  20. hell she’s not even a sharapova and sharapova is not even a seles of graf….too much of a big leap there guys

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here