Bookmark this page to:        
Current rating: 0 (0 ratings)
Sydney opens with Lucie Safarova defeating Ana Ivanovic
By Nick Georgandis Photo courtesy: Nigel Owen
 The Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova was the last entrant to get the invite to the Apia International Sydney, replacing injured Maria Sharapova, but she made the most of it in her opening-round match Sunday.
Safarova knocked off former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 7-6(5), 6-2 to advance to a second-round match-up against either Vera Zvonareva or Svetlana Kuznetsova.
It was Safarova's third straight win over Ivanovic. She leads their all-time series 3-2.
Safarova took the first-set tie-breaker after neither player blinked during the first six games. The victory proved momentous as she proceeded to break Ivanovic twice in the second set and recorded five aces en route to the easier victory.
In the match-up of the old dog against the young pup, Jelena Dokic smashed fellow Australian Isabella Holland 6-0, 6-0 in just 53 minutes.
The 28-year-old Dokic, ranked 66th in the world, broke the 20-year-old Holland six times in eight opportunities and won 10 of 11 second return points to cruise into the second round, likely against France's Marion Bartoli.
First-round action continues through Sunday, with everyone except the top two seeds - Caroline Wozniacki and Andrea Petkovic - in action. The winner will receive 470 points. In 2011, Li Na defeated Kim Clijsters, who would return the favor at the Australian Open two weeks later.
No data found
|