Ivanovic wins battle of Paris heroines in Dubai

Ana Ivanovic upset the seedings in a battle of former French Open champions with Francesca Schiavione at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday, insisting afterwards that there is still another Grand Slam title left in her.

The 2008 Roland Garros champion from Serbia beat the 2010 champion from Italy 6-1, 7-5 with a first-round performance that belied her relative decline over the past three years.

Ivanovic hurtled so quickly into a 5-0 lead, with such forceful blows from her first serve and forehand, that it seemed unlikely that she would be troubled.

But Schiavone summoned a typically tenacious second-set performance, twice recovering from dropped service games and threatening to do that a third time before Ivanovic closed the match out in a tight finish.

"I believe I can get back to the top and win a Grand Slam again - that's why I am here," said Ivanovic. "If that wasn't going to happen or I didn't feel that it could, I wouldn't be here.

"It's strange that at the age of 24 I am considered old. It's a great challenge for us players who have been around for a while," she said, referring to the rise during 2011 of Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, and Caroline Wozniacki.

"They are pushing us to get better and I still believe that I can."

Ivanovic was also pleased with the way in which she handled a finish in which her English coach Nigel Sears unexpectedly appeared on court before she could serve for the match for a second time.

Asked why she had called for him, Ivanovic said: "I didn't - he just stood up and came! He said: 'You are doing a good job, just keep at it.'

"I tried not to think about the scores. I tried to stay aggressive and also to mix it up. I tried very hard to do that."

Ivanovic nevertheless needed the help of the Hawkeye video system before reaching match point.

Schiavone's net approach was called in, but the computer simulation showed the ball landing an inch wide.

Ivanovic celebrated by closing out the match immediately with a fine first serve.

Agnieszka Radwanska and Daniela Hantuchova struggled to reach the second round.

Fifth seeded Radwanska took two hours 32-minutes to defeat qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1 6-7 7-5, and Hantuchova took just a minute less to edge past Polona Hercog 1-6 7-5 7-6.

Radwanska served for the match at 6-5 in the second set but then faced elimination when Wozniak also served for victory at 5-4 in the final set.

“The first match is always, you know, the toughest. Different conditions, different court, and different balls,” said Radwanska. “I think she was just running very good and moving very well and being very consistent in the second and third sets. I'm just very happy that I could come back in the third set and win.”

Hantuchova, who 10 days ago successfully defended a title for the first time in her career in Pattaya, was outplayed in the first set. But she fought her way back into the match and was able to do just enough to pull out the narrowest of victories.

Lucie Safarova, who last week upset both Caroline Wozniacki and Svetlana Kuznetsova, also struggled before defeating qualifier Petra Martic 6-3 5-7 6-3, but there was disappointment for Dominika Cibulkova when a pulled hamstring forced her to retire with Iveta Benesova leading 3-1.

Maria Kirilenko was also forced to withdraw from her doubles partnership with Sabine Lisicki after suffering an acute neck injury. She was receiving treatment in the hope that she will be able to play her second round singles match on Wednesday.

Sixth seed Marion Bartoli, who was forced to withdraw during the Doha event last week due to a calf injury, found it difficult to complete her first round match against Peng Shuai.

Although she earned an early break and led 3-0 in each set, Bartoli was clearly struggling with her fitness and limped her way to a 6-4 6-3 defeat.

“Tennis fans were able to enjoy some fantastic tennis today and certainly got value for money as the day session stretched to five hours of play,” said Tournament Director Salah Tahlak. “Wednesday will see the top seeds take to the courts, with world number one Victoria Azarenka, US Open winner Samantha Stosur and Dubai defending champion Caroline Wozniacki all in action.”

The WTA Tour event continues until Saturday and play then continues on February 27 with the ATP tournament featuring eight of the world’s top 10, including reigning Dubai, Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, four-time winner Roger Federer, sensational Scot Andy Murray, charismatic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, recent Montpellier winner Tomas Berdych and American number one Mardy Fish.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Tickets for the event are available from the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud which opens from 9am to 9pm daily. Grandstand tickets can also be bought online at https://www.timeouttickets.com/. For further information about tickets, prices and tournaments visithttps://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/ or phone the call centre on +971 4 358 9797.

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