Ana Ivanovic dumps Andrea Petkovic in the second round – Generali Ladies Linz 2012
Former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, showed no holds barred against one of her best friends from Germany, Andrea Petkovic, in the second round of the Generali Ladies Linz on Thursday. She ousted the wildcard entrant in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 taking just a fraction over an hour and 21 minutes at the hard courts of Austria.
The second seed wildcard entrant equalized the head-to-head scores with two matches apiece courtesy this triumph. However, it has been quite a long time since their last battle that was contested in June 2010.
Ivanovic started with a serve hold and both players swapped breakpoints in the earlier phases of the match to keep the scores together. No drama was witnessed until the scores moved on to 4-3 in favour of the Serb who had to fight extremely hard for the serve hold. Petkovic showed her class by playing some mind-startling winners but couldn’t stay consistent probably due to the undergoing recovery from the injury she incurred in the starting phase of the current season.
Petkovic lost two breakpoints in a row at the end of the second set that allowed her friend to take a set lead. The second was a treat to witness until the scores were pushed to 4-3 in favour of the Serb. Both players had won a breakpoint apiece on their way. Ivanovic won another breakthrough in the eighth game and rounded off the proceedings with a serve hold.
At the end of the contest, Ivanovic talked about Petkovic and stated, “It's always tough to play a friend. She's a really great girl and I'm happy to see her back on the tour. I know she'll get back to the top - she's such a hard worker and really deserves to be up there.”
She further added, “It always feels good to come back to the place you've had success before. It's a mix of things. I really enjoy this surface and the atmosphere is relaxed - and at this time of the year the tennis season is coming to an end, so you have more fun on the court, and maybe you don't practice as much!”
Ana Ivanovic and Kirsten Flipkens will battle for the semi-final spot on Friday.
Tags: