Top Seed Ana Ivanovic Upset at Wimbledon by China’s Zheng Jie
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jun 27, 2008 | Print |
Top seed Ana Ivanovic crashed out of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships on Friday, only one day after third seed Maria Sharapova exited in the second round.
The 2008 French Open champion was upset in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 by 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie of China.
Ivanovic, the current world number one, barely escaped her second round match against Nathalie Dechy on Wednesday, but today she was not lucky enough to escape with a mediocre performance.
Zheng, often known as a doubles specialist, played near perfect tennis and posted only ten unforced errors during the match. It was the biggest singles win of her career, having never before beaten a Top 10 player.
Some of the best moments of Zheng’s career have come on the lawns at Wimbledon, including the 2006 women’s doubles title with countrywoman Zi Yan.
Ivanovic’s loss threatens her status at the top of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Four players–Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova–entered the tournament with an opportunity to finish as the number one player in the world. After five days of competition, only two of the top four seeds are still alive in the women’s draw.
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Renzogelico | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
What was sveta’s result at Wimbledon last year?
How many pionts is she defending?
Aaress Lawless | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
Jelena and Svetlana may be the only two still alive, but the race for No. 1 is far from over.
Jelena:
Current points - 3685
2007 points - 140 (Fourth round)
Svetlana:
Current points - 3565
2007 points - 250 (Quarterfinals)
Granted, Jelena has not yet won her third round match, so things could get very close if she loses and Kuznetsova is beaten by Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday.
Ivanovic has a 503 point lead over Jankovic, plus she is only defending 450 points from last season.
pov | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
Rankings aside, there really isn’t anyone who I can say is the best player in the WTA. I wouldn’t even say “the 3 best players are . . .” The tour is rife with inconsistency.
Aaress Lawless | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
One thing is for certain. The likelihood of an all-Williams final is looking better by the day.
I think Jankovic might have a 50/50 chance of beating one of them, but not Kuznetsova or Chakvetadze.
Both of them have been very fortunate just to make it this far.
Renzogelico | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
I think that Radwanska will be able to beat Kuznetsova and possibly test Serena a little bit.
Will.I.AM | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
My prediction for the final is Kuznetsova vs. Jankovic. I know I said before the tournament that Svetlana wouldn’t make it past the 4th round, but she has looked very good this past two rounds. She’s moving well and hitting hard, and I don’t think Serena has brought her best tennis to this tournament. I also said that Venus would beat Jelena before the tournament, but Jelena has been flying under the radar and has had great results thus far. She seems relaxed and comfortable and hasn’t struggled yet. On the other hand, Venus has struggled in her past two rounds and she is also playing doubles. There might be fatigue there. Jankovic will win her first grand slam tournament!
Renzogelico | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
Ooo, Will.I.AM I hope you’re right.
A lot of people haven”t really even been mentioning Jankovic as a contender this year, but like you said she is flying under the radar because of that. SHe has had i think the best results so far even though she hasn’t played the hardest opponents, if she continuse this form against Wozniacki she should win her first grand slam.
pov | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
Definitely hoping for something other than an WS final. I don’t think it’s just coincidence that most of Serena Williams’ GS wins (including her 2 Wimbledon victories) have come when playing her sister in the finals.
PaulaV | Jun 28, 2008 | Reply
It appears that Wimbledon is the great equalizer.
Airam | Jun 29, 2008 | Reply
I don’t wanna see an all-Williams final again. I mean, it may be just fine if one of them will play in the final, but if these two will beat each other for the title… it’s like no win, no lose! And I don’t want Jankovic to win as well, I still think that injury timeout made Wozniacki drop her level because she wasn’t playing that agressively in the final set unlike the previous sets. Besides, I am so annoyed with JJ. The rule is clear, you CAN’T talk to and get some advise from your coach during the match!!! Can’t she not just play and decide on her own?!