Ana Ivanovic outshines Marion Bartoli to set-up a date with Maria Sharapova – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, tumbled over the seventh seed, Marion Bartoli, in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open 2012 on Thursday night. She joggled up a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the French number one to cruise into
the final four at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event held in Indian Wells, United States.
The 15th seed recreated her 2008 magic in this tournament and after stunning the defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round, she upset the world number seven in their eighth outing. After pocketing the
match in 77 minutes, Ivanovic not only avenged her loss at this event last year but also extended her lead in the head-to-head series by 5-3 against the French.
"I knew I had to be aggressive. Marion does strike the ball a lot harder than it looks," an elevated Ivanovic was quoted after the match. "Her serve also comes through a lot more than it seems, so I tried to stay positive and accept
she might hit some really good shots and winners, and miss some too. It wasn't going to be as much rhythm as maybe with Caroline. My mentality going on the court today was just to accept that."
Ivanovic made a wobbly entry at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and gifted away her serve in the opening game. However, she quickly counter-attacked and snatched her break back in the very next game. The Serb then maintained her
intensity and smoothly plucked remaining serves. She got the breakthrough in the eighth game and pulled out the opener by winning six games to three.
Ranked 16th in the WTA rankings, Ivanovic stormed into the proceeding set and broke the French’s serve in the opening game. She then swiftly held entire serves without facing any real challenge and sealed the set with
a 6-4 win.
The 27-year-old on the other end committed more errors and four double faults. Bartoli produced a better first serve share but brushed off only four out of seven breakpoints she faced.
"I started not feeling very well last night," Bartoli commented after her loss. “Now I'll just try to recover before Miami."
Ivanovic will next confront the world number two, Maria Sharapova, who bounced over her compatriot, Maria Kirilenko, in a three set thriller to set-up this clash. The Russian number one took three hours and five minutes to seal
the deal with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 score line in their fifth encounter.
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