By Adrianna Outlaw | Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Ana Ivanovic defeated Venus Williams, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to advance to the Beijing round of 16.
Photo credit: China Open
In a clash of former world No. 1 players, Ana Ivanovic played bold first-strike tennis to impose the last word on Venus Williams.
Ivanovic reeled off six straight games defeating a weary Williams, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to advance to the Beijing round of 16 against fellow former French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
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Kuznetsova rallied past Sloane Stephens, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, on Monday.
Ivanovic is 10-3 lifetime against Kuznetsova, including winning their last four meetings. Kuznetsova's last hard-court win over Ivanovic came in 2010.
The Ivanovic-Williams match was a rematch of the 2014 Auckland final, which Ivanovic won 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
The 14th-ranked American captured her 47th career title in Wuhan last weekend and found herself under fire from Ivanovic's return game from the early stages today.
"It was a tough match, obviously a tough draw," Williams said afterward. "Maybe not my best tennis today."
Ivanovic won 63 percent of points played on Williams' second serve and converted four of 10 break-point chances.
Williams fended off a pair of break points, holding for 2-all. She scored the first break of the match for 4-3 only to see fortune favor the Serbian. Crunching a forehand return that collided into the top of the tape, Ivanovic caught a break when the ball dribbled over the net as she broke back for 4-all. Ivanovic ran off eight straight points on serve after that.
In the tie break, Ivanovic unleashed a pair of forehand winners winning five of the first six points. Williams answered with an ace and took advantage of a double fault to close the gap to 3-5. Two points later, Ivanovic blasted a backhand winner crosscourt to seal the opening set.
Williams got off to another fast start in the second set, breaking for a 2-0 lead. But that was her last stand. Ivanovic broke back, scored her second straight break when Williams netted a backhand down the line then earned her third break of the set with a flat forehand winner.
The sixth-seeded Serbian served out a 92-minute victory at love. Ivanovic finished with nine more winners (27 to 18), improving to 3-9 lifetime against the 35-year-old American.