By Chris Oddo | Friday, January 9, 2015

 

Ana Ivanovic needed seven match points to get by Varvara Lepchenko, 7-6(2), 6-4.

Photo Source: Christopher Levy (@Tennis_Shots).

Ana Ivanovic battled past an abdominal strain and a feisty Varvara Lepchenko to reach her first career Brisbane final with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory on Friday in Brisbane.

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Ivanovic, who had to pull out of the doubles draw after straining a stomach muscle during her quarterfinal victory over Kaia Kanepi on Thursday, needed seven match points to finally eliminate the woman who had previously knocked Sam Stosur and Madison Keys out of the draw.

“Definitely your heart was raising a little bit, especially that it was really becoming a battle,” Ivanovic said after reaching her 23rd career final (15 titles). “Like I said, all the way up to that point, even though I was 5-1 up, still felt like a battle all the way through.”

Ivanovic will face either Maria Sharapova or Elina Svitolina in the final.

She believes that the abdominal injury shouldn’t be a factor heading into the final, but admitted that she still hasn't put the issue behind her. “Yeah, it's just a bit sore,” she said. “First tournament of the season you're always going to get a little bit pains and niggles here and there. That's why recovery is really important. Last night was really quick turnaround, and now I'll have a little bit more time for rest and recovery.”

Ivanovic had to rally from a break down against Lepchenko to force a first set tiebreaker, which she won easily. In the second set she built a 5-1 lead before Lepchenko rallied to force a tense finish.

It was the second career meeting between the pair; Ivanovic also won their previous meeting in three sets, in 2012 in Beijing.