Ana Ivanovic conquered her grass-court gremlins at last when she won her first tournament on the surface, a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova earning her the title at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England.
It has taken the 26-year-old Serbian former world No. 1 almost a decade to achieve, and the emphasis and consistency of her triumph made it appear more surprising it has taken so long.
Top seed Ivanovic did not drop a set throughout the tournament, the final took only 73 minutes, and the weight and earliness of her hitting — so perfectly suited to the slick, fast top — proved too forceful for all her opponents.
Photo: AFP
Strycova, an unseeded Czech playing in her first final in a WTA Tour event, had her moments, but was eventually overwhelmed.
She broke serve at the very start, almost broke back in the fourth and sixth games of the second set, then saved two match points in the eighth, but often foundered because she attempted a little too much against such a domineering favorite.
Ivanovic’s victory was as much over herself, and her inner doubts, as a valiant, but outplayed opponent.
“You’re waiting for such a result and now it comes and I’m very happy, but I didn’t expect it,” Ivanovic said.
Asked how she managed to win at last on grass, she said: “The biggest challenge for me at the moment is to be OK with not playing a perfect game, not playing a perfect shot.”
“Even when opponents play well, it’s very important for me not to dwell on it, but just accept it, move on and try to do my best each point,” she said.
For the second day in succession Ivanovic started indifferently, dropping serve immediately, and for the second day in succession she emerged without drifting into longer-term trouble.
That was partly because Strycova’s admirable policy of boldness in confronting one of the most intimidating attackers in the game was carried a little too far.
It led to Strycova dropping her first service game as well when a near-brilliant drop-and-lob volley combination landed a fraction out, followed by a dynamic serve-volley which also missed by a narrow margin.
Ivanovic served better second time around and a game later made the first decisive breakthrough. It was two penetrating backhand drives, not her biggest weapon, her forehand, which did the damage.
Ivanovic showed few signs of uncertainty on a surface she has previously claimed not to like, holding serve twice more to close out the first set.
She broke again in the third game of the second and accelerated toward victory.
There were just two moments, when Strycova had break-back points in the fourth and sixth games, when she might have got back into it, but she again failed by being a little over-bold.
However, Strycova did save two match points at 1-5, before Ivanovic served out to love to take the grass-court title which has taken a decade in coming.
Ivanovic rose two places to world No. 11 in yesterday’s rankings, well-positioned to climb during Wimbledon back into the top 10 for the first time in five years.
The grass-court Grand Slam starts on Monday next week and Ivanovic will go there knowing she has won a trophy, the Maud Watson Cup, which is the same one given to the first winner of the Wimbledon women’s singles title back in 1884.
Can she win that too?
“It is good to feel it’s never over and you always have a chance,” Ivanovic said.
Later, Ivanovic was asked if she felt like a Grand Slam champion.
“I think I do,” the former French Open winner said. “I have it in me, I know. It’s still very hard work. I know that. So I have to just prove to myself that I belong back there. Winning titles like this definitely helps.”
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