Stosur sets up Ivanovic clash

Updated October 20, 2012 15:43:22

Top-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur has set up a semi-final against Ana Ivanovic in Moscow, but Lleyton Hewitt lost to Nicolas Almagro in Stockholm.

Stosur eased into the Kremlin Cup semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Czech Klara Zakopalova.

Stosur, currently ninth in the WTA rankings, was in command from the start breaking Zakopalova's serve three times for a one-set lead in 27 minutes.

In the second set, Stosur was trailing 3-1 after Zakopalova broke in the third game. But the 2011 US Open champion then broke back twice to win the set and the match.

Stosur will now face Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion and fourth seed, who also advanced into the semi-finals beating unheralded compatriot Vesna Dolonc 6-4 6-1 in an all-Serbian quarter-final.

"It's going to be a tough match as we didn't play each other for a long time," Stosur said about Sunday's semi-final (AEDT).

"I'm going to be ready for anything. I shall concentrate on my own game, be ready to work hard and be also ready for long rallies."

Third seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated defending champion Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia and will face Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in the other semi-final.

Hewitt, meanwhile, was downed 6-1, 6-4 by Spaniard Almagro in just over an hour in the Stockholm Open.

The first set was a disaster for Hewitt, winning just 30% of points on his second serve as he was swiftly cast aside.

The second stanza was much more competitive but though the former world number one created four break point opportunities to Almagro's three, he could not force a deciding set.

Marinko Matosevic also lost on Saturday (AEDT) in the Vienna Open, going out 6-2, 6-2 to top-seed Juan Martin Del Potro.

AFP/ABC

Tags: sport, tennis, russian-federation, sweden, australia

First posted October 20, 2012 08:55:41

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Kvitova advances with Ivanovic scalp

Updated January 23, 2012 19:16:27

Reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova downed Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday.

After cruising through the first set Kvitova held off a late fight-back from the Serb to win 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) in 85 minutes in the first match of the day in the Rod Laver Arena.

The tall left-hander broke Ivanovic twice in the first set and once in the second, but was herself broken when serving for the match at 5-4.

Ivanovic held her next service game to love as Kvitova began to look shaky, but the second seed produced some big serves to take the set into a tie-break.

And Kvitova took charge of in the tie-break, quickly opening a 6-2 lead and sealing a place in the quarter-finals when an Ivanovic backhand hit the bottom of the net.

The Czech world number two hit more than twice as many winners as Ivanovic - 30 to 14 - which proved the difference between the two players.

"It was quite a hard match at the end of the second set," she said, adding that she was happy to be off the court early on a typically hot Melbourne day.

"I think I was quite lucky I played my match at 11:00am. It's hot, but we are in Australia so we are ready for it."

Kvitova has now reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the second year in row and will next play Sara Errani after the Italian defeated China's Zheng Jie 6-2, 6-1.

AFP

Tags: australian-open, tennis, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted January 23, 2012 12:42:03

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Dokic makes perfect start, Ivanovic out

Updated January 09, 2012 07:42:30

While the top-seeded players at the Sydney International enjoyed first-round byes Jelena Dokic enjoyed a practice run of her own on Sunday, routing young Australian wildcard Isabella Holland 6-0, 6-0.

Dokic breezed into the second round of the WTA event with the tournament's first double-bagel scoreline in the women's draw in more than a decade.

Back in 1997 Sarah Pitkowski wiped out Natasha Zvereva, also in the first round.

Things did not go as well for former world number one Ana Ivanovic, whose Australian Open preparations hit another snag when she fell to Lucie Safarova 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

Dokic spent just 53 minutes in the one-sided contest, before revealing she still had the confidence to take on the world's best players if she can remain injury-free in 2012.

"Look, I've been there. So I know I can play at that level," she told reporters after her match.

"It's just everything else coming together. You've just got to work extremely hard because everyone else is."

Dokic said she felt some sympathy for Holland at times during the demolition, and hoped the 20-year-old would learn from the whitewash.

"It's tough because she's also young," Dokic said.

"But it's sport. If I was playing someone like that, I don't think they would take it easy on me either.

"I think you can still learn alot from a match like this. She's just got to go out there tomorrow and work even harder. She has potential and she's still so young."

Ivanovic started her match confidently as both players held serve in the first set, and even looked to have the upper hand at 5-5 in the tie-break when she was presented with a regulation smash to bring up set point.

But instead of punishing Safarova, Ivanovic inexplicably slammed the shot into the net, before later admitting she never recovered from that error.

"I kept replaying that shot in my mind throughout the whole match," she told reporters after the match.

"I felt like that was the turning point."

Ivanovic indicated she will now head straight to Melbourne to continue her haphazard preparations for the Australian Open.

The 22-year-old was defeated in the second round of last week's Brisbane International by Kim Clijsters, meaning she will have had just three tournament matches going into the Open at Melbourne Park beginning January 16.

"It gives me plenty of time to work on a few things and tune up a few things, but I feel my game is there," she said.

"It's still going to be good to have a few days to work.

"I had a good off-season and I just want to try and keep at it.

"It would be great to have a result straight away but sometimes it's a process and it takes time."

Day two at Ken Rosewall Arena will see Australia's number one female, Sam Stosur, take on her nemesis Francesca Schiavone.

AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted January 08, 2012 13:53:43

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Wozniacki out, Ivanovic joins casualty list

Updated October 08, 2011 10:07:32

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki suffered a humiliating defeat in the China Open quarter-finals as Italian Flavia Pennetta ran rampant on Friday.

The world number one's game collapsed in the second set and she was repeatedly left stranded by Pennetta's repertoire of lobs, volleys and powerful baseline returns.

Facing match point, Wozniacki staged a dramatic comeback to force a tie break in the third set but Pennetta superbly lobbed the flat-footed Dane to seal the match 3-6, 6-0, 7-6.

Wozniacki was the only top 10 women's player left in the event.

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic became the latest high-profile player to exit the tournament when the Serb retired from her quarter-final against Agnieszka Radwanska with back problems.

The 23-year-old was a set down when the injury she sustained last week in Tokyo flared up in the second set.

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams pulled out of the competition a week ago, Victoria Azarenka failed to show for her match on Thursday due to injury while home hope Li Na exited in the first round, Sam Stosur went out in the second and Vera Zvonareva the third.

In the men's draw, world number one and 2010 champion Novak Djokovic was forced to pull out because of a back injury.

Ivanovic said she had been fighting a losing battle all week.

"I have had lots of treatments on the injury, but it hasn't got much better," the Serb said.

"I've been fighting it the whole week. I had an MRI here yesterday. The doctors are still looking at the results.

"I'm talking to physios and just making sure about the next steps to see what's wrong and what's going on. It's too early to say anything."

Romanian Monica Niculescu came from behind to beat Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch a semi-final berth while in the men's competition Tomas Berdych thrashed Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-0 to seal a place in the last four.

The Czech will play his seventh semi-final of the year against French top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who dispatched Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-4.

Croatian Ivan Ljubicic beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-2 and will Croatian Marin Cilic, a winner over South African Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-1.

Reuters

Tags: tennis, sport, china

First posted October 07, 2011 23:19:25

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First round agony for Ivanovic

Published:Wednesday, May 25, 2011 6:53 AEST

A dejected Ana Ivanovic of Serbia reacts as she heads towards defeat during the women's singles round one match against Johanna Larsson of Sweden on day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 24, 2011.

Tags: sport, tennis, france

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