Ana Ivanovic routines through Nadia Petrova in the second round battle – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Second round battle between the two veteran contenders was settled in the favour of the former world number one, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, at the Mutua Madrid open on Tuesday. The 13th seed Serbian took down the 29-year-old Russian power house, Nadia Petrova, in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the third round of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event in Madrid, Spain.
Petrova and Ivanovic had faced each other on a number of occurrences prior to their Tuesday’s encounter. The Serbian diva was successful in their last year’s battle at the season-ending WTA event in Bali, Indonesia, in straight sets and replicated the similar result on the blue clay of Madrid this time round to lead 8-5 in the head-to-head series. Ivanovic improves 16-9 this season, moving a step closer to the quarter-final round of the Madrid Open.
The contest witnessed a gruelling battle earlier on, with Petrova posing a solid resistance to give Ivanovic some tough time. The Serbian beauty queen got the better of Petrova at the last moments of the opening set to get one up and then launched an all-round onslaught in the following set to rocket away to victory with commanding authority.
"It was a great first set - Nadia started really well, and I didn't do much wrong either," Ivanovic said. "In the second set I started serving better and putting more pressure on her with my forehand, which I think was the big difference. I love clay. I grew up on it. The blue clay is a little more slippery, but it's the same for everyone, so you just have to stay focused as usual."
Ivanovic belted seven aces without spilling a single double fault in the entire contest and clinched 27 out of 35 first serve points en route to victory. She broke the Russian serve four out of six times, while suffering lone break point from Petrova to seal the competition with a breadstick.
Ivanovic will face the belligerent world number one, Victoria Azarenka, in the third round brawl of the Mutua Madrid Open later this week. The top seed hot favourite was successful against the Czech qualifier, Andrea Hlavackova, in the second round clash on Tuesday.
"Vika has been playing extremely well lately, and it's a challenge for anyone against her," Ivanovic said of Azarenka.
The 15th ranked Serb is yet to bag a WTA title this season and her impactful start to the Madrid campaign hints her hunger for gold at this coveted event.
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