Mona Barthel stuns Ana Ivanovic in round one - Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2012
Former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, faced a shocking defeat at the hands of the German tennis ace, Mona Barthel, who booked a spot in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. The Serb was undone
in straight sets 7-5, 7-6(4); battling for an hour and 42 minutes.
On her loss, Ivanovic stated, “On all of my set points she hit big serves - she served great and played very well today. I really had my chances in the first set. It was disappointing to finish like this but she was playing on
top of her game."
It was harsh on the Serb who deserved better outcome than this. She played extremely well but didn't bag the critical points. However, she is still happy from her performance in the whole week especially her cracking performance
in the Federation Cup tie against Russia to help her country reach the final of the tournament for the first time ever in the history of the tournament.
Talking about that, she stated, “There's a lot at stake in Fed Cup - you're playing for your country in a different way. I have to say I was still a little bit tired from Fed Cup. There are a lot of things I'm happy about though.
I'm striking the ball well. I just have to have a bit of rest and recover now.”
The opening set witnessed a thrilling start with successive breakthroughs at both ends. However, at the scores of 5-5, the German held her serve but her counterpart couldn’t that registered a two game lead for Barthel.
With five aces and 41 points, the German bagged the opening set with ease. Ivanovic was playing extremely well but not managing to co-ordinate her points together and registers game triumphs. She lost the opening set with a difference
of just four points that shows the proximity of the game play between the two players.
Serb world number 15 started the second set very well and kept her opponent under pressure. She constructed three chances to break serve but couldn’t convert any one of them. It was shocking to see the Serb failing to take control
of the match having played so well.
No breakthroughs throughout the set enforced the tie-breaker round into play. The bad luck for the Serb continued and she lost an early mini-break that led to her downfall.
Mona Barthel plays the seventh seed French, Marion Bartoli, in the next round.
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