Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic provided hints on and off the court at the Dubai Open on Monday as to why her new coach might just provide the boost she needs to get back to the top of the world rankings.
The Serbian superstar teamed up with American Craig Kardon only last week — and her first match with his help produced an important revenge.
She won 7-5, 6-4 against Alisa Kleybanova, the aggressive Russian who caused a massive shock last month when she beat Ivanovic in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
PHOTO: AP
That was Ivanovic’s last match on the WTA Tour, but she took the opportunity to repair some of the damage at the first attempt, proving resilient when it mattered most.
She gained an early break for 4-1, lost it, and was pegged back for 5-5. But crucially, Ivanovic proved her readiness to fight as she squeezed out the first set.
The second was an even tighter steal, with both players holding serves through to 4-4, at which stage Ivanovic had to save a break point which might have opened the door for Kleybanova to take the match to a decider.
Instead she got to 5-4, which really threw the pressure back on the serve of the world No. 27. Kleybanova saved one match point superbly but on the second she succumbed to Ivanovic’s tenacious containing, angling a makable backhand volley into the net.
The win will also be a relief as Ivanovic’s record since winning the French Open last June is only 11 wins in 20 matches. She has not only been bothered by injury but has appeared to have lost her way.
Hence the importance of Kardon, who used to be coach to Martina Navratilova.
“We have practiced really well, on moving forward, coming to the net — simple things, because we haven’t had time to go into detail. But I feel I am achieving something every practice,” she said.
She now has a strong chance to reach a quarter-final, possibly against world No. 1 Serena Williams, because the other seed in her quarter, Agnieszka Radwanska, the No. 9, was beaten.
The 19-year-old Pole, who recently made the world’s top 10 for the first time, became the curiosity of the tournament so far — because she was beaten by her younger sister.
The 18-year-old Urszula scored her debut tournament win over Agnieszka 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round on the main tour for only the second time in five months. The win carried Urszula out of the shadows and brought immediate questions as to whether there might ultimately be a rivalry similar to that of Serena and Venus Williams.
Later Svetlana Kuznetsova lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 to her Ukraine-born compatriot Elena Vesnina.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but