No. 1 Ana Ivanovic Stunned in Second Round of 2008 US Open
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Aug 28, 2008 | Print |
Top seed Ana Ivanovic was knocked out of the US Open on Thursday in the second round.
France’s Julie Coin, ranked No. 188, defeated the world number one in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. This was the earliest exit of a top seed at the US Open during the Open era.
“Her serve was very consistent and very, very strong,” said Ivanovic after the match. “She’s not such a tall girl, and she was serving really strong and powerful serves. Yeah, had a lot of first serves in as well.”
“She was going for her shots and she was playing really well today,” continued Ivanovic.
“I think in the third set I created a lot of opportunities for myself. Just didn’t quite use them. That was very, very frustrating.”
Ivanovic struggled in her opening round match against Vera Dushevina on Tuesday before overcoming the Russian in three sets.
Coin is the lowest ranked player to defeat a reigning world number one in the history of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
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Dapxin | Aug 28, 2008 | Reply
She is so literarily/mentally and historically young that the No1 thing just serves to tear her into pieces.
Even sadly, she is nursing a nagging thumb injury. I really deeply feel sorry for Ana.
Its a long drive now to reckoning - she must be feeling shattered how its all gone wrong before its started…
Cristina Carlos | Aug 28, 2008 | Reply
I can’t say this was a surprising lost so all the reports that say Ana was “upset” or “stunned” doesn’t really make sense to me. Sure she’s the #1 player in the world, but she hasn’t had a lot of match play and hasn’t quite gotten back to the form she had in the beginning of the season. I feel sad that she lost, but I can’t say I was at all surprised.
Wilson Spaulding | Aug 29, 2008 | Reply
On May 14, 2008 Justine Henin quit professional women’s tennis and Ana Ivanovic, numerically the #2 player in the world but in actuality much farther behind Henin in terms of talent, became the immediate beneficiary.
With her accumulation of points propelling her to the top of the rankings, Ivanovic gained instant credibility by winning her first Grand Slam at the 2008 French Open in June. Luck and apparently real talent was on her side.
Ivanovic skipped the smaller venues (Eastbourne, ’s-Hertogenbosch) before Wimbledon. Later she would tell the press that she had needed time off from the “pressure” of winning at RG and being #1. This after a little over two weeks at the top.
At the All England Club Ana’s luck began to change, though a little good fortune remained. Thanks to a forgiving net, Ivanovic reached the third round after a marathon three-hours plus battle with Nathalie Dechy. With only a day to recover from the mental and physical exhaustion of that match, Ivanovic was still favored to win through her next match against a last minute wild card, the 133 ranked Zheng Jie.
Small of stature but with a giant spirit and formidable talent (shades of Henin), Jie cleaned Ana’s clock in no uncertain terms (in straight sets 6-1, 6-4) and Ivanovic’s status as #1 was in immediate jeopardy.
Moving to Montreal and the Rogers Cup, Ana’s luck finally soured completely. Once again she lost a third round match (three sets) to Tamira Paszek (currently ranked 68). Jankovic, briefly, took over the #1 spot. But even worse than these losses was the injury to her thumb, an injury which kept her out of the Olympics and on the sidelines until the US Open.
Before and after yesterday match’s against Julie Coin (at 188, ranked fifty-five points below Zheng Jie’s Wimbledon ranking) no one from the Ivanovic camp mentioned any residual effects from the thumb injury. In fact the news services reported Ivanovic as “pain free”, so we must believe that the injury played no part in Ana’s defeat. No, it was more the determined and precise first serves, punchy backhands and blazing forehand winners of Coin that, despite an attack of nerves in the second set, ultimately overpowered Ivanovic and sent her down to another “stunning” defeat.
Yes, Cristina I agree. After her continual defeats at the hands of players ranked far below her, Ivanovic, her fans and tennis observers in general should have looked upon Julie Coin with a little trepidation.
But then again Coin was ranked 188. Surely (the reasoning must have concluded) Ivanovic would have no problem with such a player.
On August 5, 2008, Aaress Lawless posted an article entitled: JUSTINE HENIN + ABSENCE = CHAOS. A truer title (and article) was never written. With Henin at the top there was legitimate, credible talent reigning supreme. With Henin gone there is a terrible talent void at the top of the rankings, at least in the first two slots where an amassing of points has placed Ivanovic and Jankovic ahead of the rest of the competition. However, there may soon be a real championship-caliber #1 player once again. She’s won eight Grand Slams and has a career Grand Slam on her record. She has won the big ones and the lesser ones on all surfaces. She’s currently ranked #3. And, of course, everybody knows her name.
In the meanwhile, Ivanovic has to do a major overhaul, a serious retooling of virtually aspect of her game if she is to be taken seriously in the forseeable future.
Aaress Lawless | Aug 30, 2008 | Reply
Wilson, you’ve hit the proverbial nail straight on the head. Ivanovic and Jankovic both have proven that they have the game to reach the top, but mental fortitude is clearly lacking in both of them.
I find it amazing that in the midst of the chaos (and thank you for your kind words about my article), we turn to Serena Williams to straighten out this situation and bring some order to an upset world.
Three years ago, the world had all but forgotten Serena and written her off as a serious contender. Now, we’re looking at her as the favorite to claim . . . and maybe even hold onto the No. 1 ranking.
Ivana | Aug 30, 2008 | Reply
“On May 14, 2008 Justine Henin quit professional women’s tennis and Ana Ivanovic, numerically the #2 player in the world but in actuality much farther behind Henin in terms of talent, became the immediate beneficiary.”
Actually, Maria Sharapova was numerically the #2 player in the world and became the immediate beneficiary by automatically regaining the #1 spot. Ana became the new #1 three weeks later.
Wilson Spaulding | Aug 30, 2008 | Reply
Quite correct, Ivana. It’s been rather easy to look past Sharapova as Ivanovic and Jankovic have gained, however briefly, the limelight.