Ana Ivanovic seals return to form with Linz title
Ana Ivanovic brought the leanest period of her tennis career to a close with an emphatic victory over Patty Schnyder in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz on Sunday.
Two years of title-less tennis for the former world No. 1 came to an end in just 47 minutes as Ivanovic dominated the veteran to claim a 6-1, 6-2 win.
And while this may have been a title won in a solid enough though not spectacular field, it’s the culmination of an improvement that saw Ivanovic reach the fourth round of the US Open (where she lost to eventual champion Kim Clijsters) and the quarter-finals of the China Open in her previous tournament, defeating ninth ranked Elena Dementieva in two tiebreak sets along the way.
Yesterday’s victory only gained the 22-year-old an improvement three rankings places, as she moved up to world No. 26, but after dropping out of the top-60 earlier in the year, it’s another step in the right direction.
And if Ivanovic can maintain this kind of form into 2011, further improvement in the rankings, and perhaps even a return to the top-10, beckons.
Certainly, Ivanovic has the weapons to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the game, and now she’s found that old confidence again, the 2008 French Open champion appears poised to make a serious impact on the tennis world next year.
Against Schnyder, Ivanovic employed her powerful forehand with destructive force, but it was complemented by some strong play off the backhand side and a willingness to defend – some excellent footwork helping her cause – and wait for the moment to unleash a winner.
And yes, you might need a few extra fingers to count how many times the Serb caught that often errant ball toss before starting the service process again, but when the ball toss was under control, Ivanovic’s serve set her up to take control of the point on the majority of occasions. Her returns of serve too were often lethal; leaving the Swiss with no choice but to watch the ball sail past her for a cold winner.
The victory could have been easier too; the seventh seed raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set before Schnyder won two consolation games. Ivanovic though regrouped and on the second chance she had to do so, served out the match, sealing victory, and her ninth career title, with an ace.
If we were tentative in our claims Ivanovic was back before Linz, her victory in Austria – both in the fact and nature of it –must now have given fans another very good reason to believe even greater success is once again just around the corner.
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