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By Chris Oddo/ Saturday, January 18, 2014
Ana Ivanovic is partying like its 2008, after coming from
behind to upset top-seeded Serena Williams on Day 7, 4-6,
6-3, 6-3.
Photo Source: Australian Open.
Ana Ivanovic pulled the shocker of the
2014 Australian Open, knocking off World No. 1 Serena
Williams, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 for her first career victory
over Williams and her first trip to the Australian Open
quarterfinals since she reached the final in 2008.
The loss ends Williams’ bid for a sixth career title in
Australia and an 18th Grand Slam title, which would have tied
her with Chris Evert and Martina
Navratilova on the all-time list.
It was just the sixth time that Williams has dropped a match in
a major after winning the first set, but the third time in
three years that Williams has failed to make the semifinals
Down Under.
Ivanovic executed a bold strategy of attacking Williams vaunted
serve, and even though she squandered a break lead to drop the
first set, she regained the upper hand in the second set
against an increasingly lethargic Williams to force a decider.
With the crowd firmly in her corner an pulling for the upset,
Ivanovic rallied for a 3-0 lead in the decider and never
dropped her guard, holding serve in each of her final nine
games to keep Williams at bay.
“It was very consistent,” Ivanovic told the shocked and
delighted Rod Laver crowd after the match. “I was very happy
about that. It’s not easy playing such a champion.”
Williams hit 13 aces on the afternoon, but was stymied by
Ivanovic’s aggressive returns for much of the match. She faced
14 break points against the Serb, saving ten.
Immediately after the match, it was reported on Twitter that
Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou told the
press that Williams had suffered a back injury between her
second and third round matches, and that while it wasn’t
serious, the injury had hampered her movement against Ivanovic.
Williams, to her credit, downplayed the rumors (though eventually she admitted that
there was a problem and that she had even considered pulling
out of the tournament), instead giving praise to her
opponent. “I was just trying to do the best I could today,” she
said. “Maybe I wasn’t the best physically, but that had nothing
to do with it. I think Ana just played a really good match. She
did what it takes to win.”
Regardless of the veracity of those reports, it was obvious
that Williams was far from being at her Grand Slam winning
best.
She struck only 22 winners on the day, while committing 31
unforced errors, and appeared to be struggling with movement as
she attempted to fend off Ivanovic’s aggressive tactics. At
times she became frustrated, at others resigned. But mostly,
the shots that she needed just weren’t there.
For Ivanovic, they were. She brought the fight to Williams and
returned what many consider the best serve in the history of
women’s tennis with remarkable power an precision. When the
match was on the line, with her ardent supporters rising to
their feet and calling for the upset, Ivanovic held her nerve
and finished the job with great poise.
“I had to remind myself all the time, you know, just to stay in
the moment,” Ivanovic said. “Because there were moments in the
match where it could have gone either way.” Ivanovic, who had
never won more than four games in a set in four previous
matches against Williams, will face either Eugenie
Bouchard or Casey Dellacqua in the
quarterfinal round. The former World No. 1 has reached one
Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2008.
After a one-year period that began in the spring of 2007,
Ivanovic reached three Grand Slam finals, winning the 2008
French Open and rising to No. 1 in the world. But her success
didn’t last, and she has since struggled to regain that
championship form.
She dropped out of the top ten in 2009 and has not returned.
But she has steadily improved over the last few seasons,
despite undergoing a steady turnover with her coaching team.
She currently sits at No. 14 in the world, and is making her
37th consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance.
Elsewhere on Day 7, Li Na trounced
Ekaterina Makarova to reach the quarterfinals
at the Australian Open for the fourth time in five years, 6-2,
6-0.
Li will meet Flavia Pennetta who fought past
Angelique Kerber in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
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