Ana Ivanovic storms past Jie Zheng at US Open
It’s been a long and difficult past couple of seasons for Ana Ivanovic, but the former world No. 1 has made an ultra positive start to her US Open campaign, taking a straight sets victory over 21st seed Jie Zheng in her second-round match today.
Indeed, Ivanovic’s 6-3, 6-0 win today has propelled the former world No. 1 into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon in 2009, when she made a fourth-round exit, retiring hurt while trailing eventual runner-up Venus Williams. A first-round loss at last year’s US Open, second round defeats at the Australian Open and on clay at Roland Garros, and a first round exit at Wimbledon 2010 followed as the 22-year-old’s ranking plummeted.
It’s been a dismal run at the majors over the past 12 months for a player who not so long ago looked to have the tennis world at her feet, but Ivanovic had arrived in New York on the back of encouraging run to the Cincinnati semi-finals, a tournament where she defeated Victoria Azarenka in the first round, but also one at which the Serb sustained a foot injury that kept her out of her final planned US Open warm-up event in New Haven.
Today’s match started with Ivanovic chasing down that all too frequently wayward ball toss, but the serve landed in the box and the point was duly won to get the ball rolling for the 2008 French Open champion. Indeed, it was Ivanovic who got the first break, and then the second as Zheng double faulted on break point to hand her unseeded opponent a chance to serve for the set.
Whether it was the mark of Ivanovic’s recent struggles, or the Chinese No. 2’s willingness to fight out every point, the opportunity went begging for the Serb, but she didn’t make the same mistake the second time of asking, sealing the set with a forehand down the line – her 12th winner of the set – after 31 minutes on court.
Ivanovic hammered home the advantage on the scoreboard as she secured the break in the opening game of the second set, then, as those powerful forehands did the damage for the world No. 40, she wrapped up the second set in just 25 minutes.
Azarenka was also on court in the blistering heat today, and it seems the conditions were too much for the 10th seed, as she was forced to retire from her second round match against Gisela Dulko while trailing 5-1 in the opening set after collapsing at the back of the court.
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