Ana Ivanovic outlasts Ksenia Pervak to reach the fourth round – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, battled past the Kazakhstani ace, Ksenia Pervak, in a three set thriller at the BNP Paribas Open 2012 on Monday. She nudged up a 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2 victory over the 20-year-old to book a spot in the round of 16 at this
joint hard court tournament held in California, United States.
The 15th seeded Serb found her rhythm after the first set and eventually overpowered the left-handed Pervak in three sets at these Californian hard courts. The players previously battled each other at the US Open last year and after pocketing
this match, Ivanovic not only improved to a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Kazakh but also secured a fourth round place.
The Russian-born made a strong start at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as she capitalised on two out of six break opportunities to prevail. However, she lost her serve twice and subsequently enforced a tie-breaker. Pervak outclassed the high spirited Serb
in it and clinched the opener with a 7-6(8) score line.
Ranked 16th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Ivanovic hit back with a fitting reply in the second set. She gifted away her serve once but broke Pervak’s serve three times to seal the equaliser by winning six games to three.
The 24-year-old carried her winning ways in the final set and after cashing in half of the six break opportunities, she bagged the decider with a 6-2 win. Ivanovic also warded off three out of four breakpoints she faced and impressively marked nine out of
14 points on her lower first serve share.
Next in line for the blooming Serb is the conqueror of the match between Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden and the former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki.
The French number one, Marion Bartoli, will accompany Ivanovic in the fourth round. She slaughtered the South African tennis star, Chanelle Scheepers, with a bagel to occupy this spot. Bartoli committed more double faults and produced a lower first serve
share of 46 per cent as compared to her rival’s 60 per cent. However, she lost her serve twice and broke the South African’s serve seven times to cap the match with a 6-2, 6-0 victory.
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