Ana Ivanovic cripples Valeria Solovieva to enter quarters – Kremlin Cup 2012
Former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, tumbled the local qualifier, Valeria Solovieva, with a breadstick at the Kremlin Cup 2012 on Thursday. She notched up a 6-1, 6-4 victory against the world number 216 to power into the quarter-finals at this WTA (Women’s
Tennis Association) Premier event held in Moscow, Russia.
Seeded fourth in this event, Ivanovic displayed top notch performance to outclass the local challenger in 65 minutes. Battling each other for the first time, Ivanovic edged in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against the 19-year-old and progressed into the
final eight at this indoor hard court event taking place from 13th to 21st October.
The Serbian number one unleashed her true skills after entering the Olympic Stadium. She reeled off five games in a row through exquisite forehands from her arsenal of skills. Ivanovic plucked her serve once again in the last game and clicked the opener
with a breadstick. She dusted away all three breakpoints she faced and cashed both break chances to inch towards glory.
Ranked 12th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Ivanovic kept momentum rolling in the following set. She got the critical break in the seventh game and jumped to a 5-3 lead. The Serb slid her serve once again and cinched the set with a 6-4 score line.
The Serb dusted away the only breakpoint she encountered and cashed the lone break chance to record this victory.
The 24-year-old struck five aces and spilled fewer double faults. She clobbered a lower first serve share of 59 per cent as compared to her rival’s 74 per cent but superbly marked 25 out of 30 points on it.
Up next for Ivanovic is her qualifying compatriot, Vesna Dolonc.
"I don't know much about her and haven't seen her play lately, but she's had a great run this tournament and beat Halep, who was playing very well," the gorgeous Serb reflected about her next match-up in the post match press conference. "I'm really happy
to see her do well. Hopefully we have a good match."
Dolonc stunned the Romanian star, Simona Halep, with a bagel to set up this meeting.
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