TORONTO – In a stunning turn of events, defending Rogers Cup champion Ana Ivanovic was quickly disposed of in her opening match at this year’s tournament in Toronto.
China’s Yan Zi made it look easy against the world’s #4 player, as she handled the Serb in straight sets (6-3, 6-1).
At a post-match press conference, Yan said that it was exciting to beat her favorite player and that playing with nothing-to-lose was a definite advantage.
“I was very relaxed, she said. “I (didn’t) think I can win, she’s the top player in the world.”
The loss is especially surprising, considering Ivanovic’s recent success. She beat Maria Sharapova in the French Open semi-finals, made the Final Four at Wimbledon earlier this summer and won the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles last week. In fact, Ivanovic confirmed that winning in California affected her game north of the border.
“It’s very tough. Especially coming from Los Angeles because it’s three hours time difference. And Monday and Tuesday I had days off, so I didn’t practice” she said. “Because I had a good tournament last week, and it was very hard to start, you know, again to focus from the first round on.”
The loss of Ivanovic is especially damaging to the Rogers Cup as she becomes the latest ‘name’ player to leave the tournament after Serena Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and the aforementioned Sharapova all pulled out because of injury. Earlier today, Anna Chakvetdaze pulled out of her match against Virginie Razzano due to illness. Ivanovic regretted that she couldn’t get farther in a tournament she loves, but made no excuses.
“It’s obviously very disappointing for me because this is one of my favorite tournaments” she said. “Tournament is still very (but) basically speaking, I am very disappointed.”
While fatigue might have been a factor, Ivanovic took nothing away from her unseeded opponent.
“I expected a tough match, but from first point on she started playing very aggressive and she was dominating.” “She was reading my game very well. She almost played without mistakes.”
What’s next?
For Yan, it is the winner of the Eleni Daniilidou/Alona Bondarenko match in the next round.
Ivanovic, who has already won $1.5 million U.S. this season says that she will continue to prepare for the U.S. Open.
“I am going to practice hard and try to get back to the form I was.”
