2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions; Ana Ivanovic to meet Alisa Kleybanova in the final
The Serbian tennis ace Ana Ivanovic celebrated her 23rd birthday with a hard fought semi-final win at the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions on Saturday, thrashing out her 40-year-old opponent, Kimiko Date Krumm of Veteran to make her way into
the title battle in Bali. The final match score was 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2.
The 40-year-old Kimiko started off the match strongly as she took the opening three games and eventually took a lead of 5-3. The former world number one Ana, however, bounced back and won the sixth game along with the set at 7-5.
Kimiko did well to prevent match point down 7-5, 6-5 during the start of the second set. She rallied back from 4-2 down and managed to push it to a third set with the help of a tie break. However, the 23-year-old Ana who won the French Open title back in
2008, was too strong in the final set and closed out the battle in two hours and twenty three minutes in the end.
Ana and Kimiko had both defeated seeded contenders in the final eight round in Bali. The Serbian ousted the third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova whereas Kimiko stunned the number one seed Li Na in straight sets.
The right hander Ana is now just a single victory away from her second crown of the season, having already captured a title in Linz last month. By winning a trophy in Bali, Ana will once again jump into the top twenty on the WTA tour.
"It was a close clash, physically and mentally. The rhythm on my serve was not there in the start; however I managed to stay calm and win that first set. I had match point in the second set but she played really well in that game, and I am just glad to win
in the end. She smashes the ball hard and low, so you really have to bend and use your legs, which is tough at my height,” Ana reflected after confirming her final berth on Saturday.
She further added, "It does not matter who I play in the final. I know that whoever it is, it will be a tight match. For the moment it is important for me to recover for tomorrow."
In the second semi-final match of the day, two unseeded players Alisa Kleybanova and Daniela Hantuchova met on the centre court. Alisa, however, rallied back from a 1-3 start by taking eleven of the next twelve games and in the end surpassed Daniela in two
sets. The final score line was 6-3, 6-1.
Ana and Alisa are currently tied in their head-to-head encounter at 3-3 on the tour. Four of these clashes have come in 2010, with that series tied at 2-2. The Serbian has triumphed in their previous two encounters, both on the hard courts, comfortably in
straight sets.
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