Ana's French Open came to an end thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 defeat against ninth seed Victoria Azarenka. The match lasted 72 minutes and means that, for the first time since 2006, Ana will not be present in the final day of the second Grand Slam of the year.
The loss in her first meeting against Azarenka also denied Ana the chance of a rematch of the 2008 final against Russian and No.1 Dinara Safina, who would have been her opponent in quarter-finals.
Azarenka displayed steady aggression, harmful backhand shots and the confidence she had earned after her victory at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami to upset the defending champion.
The Belarusian earned the first break of serve thanks to a sizzling cross-court backhand passing-shot to take a 3-1 lead. From that moment on, Azarenka had control of most rallies as the 21-year-old appeared short of energy.
The 2008 champion could not control Azarenka's powerful, flat backhand and lost her serve once more when he sent a backhand wide after an intense rally. She asked for the trainer during the change of ends and later spoke of feeling dizzy. Azarenka closed the set when Ana netted a forehand.
Unfortunately for her supporters, the very first game of the second set offered no change. Ana saved three break points but couldn't succeed on the fourth one. The Belarusian grew in confidence and added points and games to her quest, while Ana continued to appear jaded.
The crowd gathered in the Suzanne Lenglen Stadium only had one favourite and her name was Ana. They started cheering for her noisily and she used that energy to get one break back and serve at 2-4. but her opponent hit two backhand winners to take a decissive 5-2 lead.
Ana raised the fan's voice once more when she earned her last break of serve, but missed two backhands in a row to finally lose the match.
Ana ended the match with 24 winners and 20 unforced errors. She enjoyed a warm ovation from the crowd as she left the court.
"I started really well, and I felt really good in the beginning," said Ana. "But later on during the match I started to feel very dizzy.
"She played very well today and the better player won. I'm obviously extremely disappointed with this loss, but there isn't much time to get too down about it because the grass season is just around the corner. That's a positive thing."
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Ana felled by Azarenka
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Ana vs Tanasugarn
Ana is set to face world No.52 Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday. It will be the first meeting between the pair.
Tanasugarn reached round two thanks to a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Frenchwoman Camille Pin. Ana, meanwhile, beat world No.44 Sara Errani 7-6, 6-3.
Tanasugarn, who turned 31 on Monday, is playing in her 12th French Open tournament. Her best showing so far is a third round finish in 2002. The Thai is perhaps best-known for her performances at Wimbledon, where she has reachd the second week no fewer than seven times, including a quarter-final appearance last year.
During last year's grass court season she scored victories over the likes of former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic, current world No.1 Dinara Safina and world No.6 Vera Zvonareva.
Ana said: "She's a very experienced player and she's consistent. I know she will bring a lot of balls back, and I'm going to have to be patient in order to come through this match. I'm looking forward to it."
Rain in Paris caused delays to matches on Tuesday, so Wednesday's schedule could be affected. Click here for live point-by-point scoring from Paris.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Like it or not, Jankovic is No. 1
Jelena Jankovic will become the new No. 1 in women’s tennis on Monday when the updated rankings are posted.
Yes, that Jelena Jankovic - the player who owns a mere six career titles and has never played in a Grand Slam final.
The 23-year-old Serbian will have 3,620 points as of Monday, moving just eight points ahead of countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, who has held down the top spot since here maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.
Because her resume is missing a major title, many tennis observers have questioned whether Jankovic is truly deserving of being the 18th No. 1 player in the history of the sport.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Shock!! Ivanovic ousted at Wimbledon
The top-seeded Serb was upset, 6-1, 6-4, by Chinese wild card Jie Zheng in third-round action at the grasscourt major Friday.
“It’s tough, but she played well today,” Ivanovic said. “It was a tough match for me, but I just look at it as a learning learning experience.”
Ivanovic had reached this stage after surviving scare on Wednesday, when she escaped with a 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3), 10-8 victory over Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.
The reigning French Open champion saved a pair of match points in the second set of that match. On the second of those match points saved, the top-ranked Ivanovic caught a break when a return shot clipped the top of the net and dropped softly to Dechy’s side of the court.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Ivanovic officially takes over at No. 1
PARIS (AP)—French Open champion Ana Ivanovic officially moved up to No. 1 in the WTA Tour rankings for the first time Monday, replacing Maria Sharapova at the top.
Ivanovic is the 17th woman, and first representing Serbia, to be No. 1.
She entered the French Open at a career-high No. 2, but overtook Sharapova, who lost in the fourth round.
“Being No. 1 now holds more pressure,” Ivanovic said after beating Dinara Safina in straight sets in Saturday’s championship match. “But you’re also a professional athlete, and if you want to achieve your goals, you have to learn how to handle the pressure.”
Safina rose from No. 14 to No. 9, matching her career high.
Sharapova is now No. 2, followed by the losing semifinalists at Roland Garros, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Jankovic would have risen to No. 1 if she had beaten Ivanovic in their semifinal.
Elena Dementieva rose from No. 8 to No. 5. Serena Williams slipped one spot to No. 6, and Venus Williams stayed at No. 7. Both Williams sisters lost in the third round at Roland Garros.
There was no change in any of the top six spots in the ATP rankings, with French Open champion Rafael Nadal staying at No. 2 for the 151st consecutive week. The man he beat 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in Sunday’s championship match, Roger Federer, remains at No. 1, extending his record by sitting atop the rankings for the 228th consecutive week.
Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who lost to Nadal in the French Open semifinals, is still No. 3, followed by Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer and No. 6 Andy Roddick.
James Blake moved up one spot to No. 7, with David Nalbandian falling to No. 8. Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet round out the top 10.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Ana Ivanovic wins French Open 2008
Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic claimed her first grand slam title with a 6-4 6-3 win over Russia’s Dinara Safina in the French Open final on Saturday.
The second seed became the first woman representing Serbia to win a major title.
