Serena Williams conquers Bojana Jovanovski in the second round – Brisbane WTA 2012
Fourth seed, Serena Williams, tumbled over the Serb, Bojana Jovanovski, in straight sets at the Brisbane International 2012 on Wednesday. She suffered an injury in the end of the second set but resumed her play and registered
a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Belgrade native at this first WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) event of the season.
The world number 12 recreated her 2010 spell and dumped the Serb, who turned 20 on this New Year’s Eve, in their second meeting. After dominating this one hour and 26 minutes long marathon, the American extended her lead
in the head-to-head series by 2-0 against Jovanovski and secured a final eight spot.
The American number one lost her serve once but broke Jovanovski’s serve three times to bag the opener with a 6-2 success. She failed to fend off the only breakpoint she came across but cashed in all three break chances.
Williams was leading 5-3 after capitalising on two breaks of serves before she twisted her ankle. She received treatment for almost 10 minutes but got back on court to play the remaining set. The American lost her serve in
the ninth game after bearing severe pain but she got another breakthrough in the following game, eventually sealing the win with 6-4 score line.
Overall, the 30-year-old American formulated a lower first serve share of 51 percent in contrast with Jovanovski’s 59 percent but smashed six aces to cover it up. She also clinched 19 out of 30 points on her first serve and
converted six out of seven break opportunities to her advantage.
Regardless of an exceptional victory, Williams confirmed her ankle injury after the match and pulled out from this Australian Open build-up tournament.
"I'm disappointed to have to pull out of the Brisbane International," Williams said after getting her ankle examined. "I have been to hospital and it has been confirmed that I have a left ankle sprain that I probably shouldn't
play on. I'm going to take a couple of days off, not too many, and see how I feel… I'm still hopeful of playing the Australian Open."
Her next opponent, Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, who bounced over American qualifier Vania King, automatically advanced into the last four.
Seventh seeded Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, exited from this event earlier that day. She suffered a brutal 0-6, 3-6 defeat at the hands of the high flying Estonian, Kaia Kanepi. The Russian youngster displayed dismal
performance as she sought zero break chances and defended only six out of ten breakpoints she came across.
Tags: