Former world number one Ana Ivanovic entered the semifinals of the women’s Commowealth Bank Tournament of Champions on Indonesia’s Bali island Thursday. The Serbian beat Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-3 in an 80-minute match with a close second set that saw Vinci making strong returns down the line. The win moved Ivanovic a step closer to successfully defending the title she won last year.
Ivanovic has been pushing through an ankle injury and took a medical time-out with her doctor and trainer, but bounced back to win the a second set with consistent forehand winners.
“(Vinci) is a tough opponent and I’ve lost to her twice this year, so I knew I had to be aggressive and settle into the rhythm of the match,” she said. Earlier in the first round, Russia’s Nadia Petrova beat China’s Shuai Peng 6-4, 6-3, with Peng losing her reach on the ball as Petrova used her strength to dominate the court in the final games. Petrova got more first serves in than Peng, allowing her to set up winners to Peng’s backhand. The turning point came in the second set when the opponents were neck to neck, on deuce with three games each.
Petrova won the game with a forehand shot and easily put away the next two games to see her into the semi-finals to face Ivanovic.
France’s Marion Bartoli will meet Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigies on Friday, and Germany’s Sabine Lisicki plays Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova for a spot in the semifinals.
