Former champion Ana Ivanovic advanced to the Indian Wells semi-finals on Thursday, easing past a stricken Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-4 in a rematch of their quarter-final contest from last year. “I am definitely happy to be through and get my revenge from last year in the quarters,” Ivanovic said. “It was a tough match. I served well.
“We both started well but that eighth game of the second set was important. I just tried to stay low and make her run.” France’s Bartoli reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells last year with a close 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win over the 24-year-old Serbian. Bartoli went on to the final where she lost to Caroline Wozniacki.
Ivanovic advances to the semis where she will face either Maria Sharapova or Maria Kirilenko.
Bartoli was trailing 1-2 in the second set when she asked for the doctor to come out onto the court. As the doctor was taking her blood pressure, the television cameras caught her saying, “everything is spinning.”
She was in discomfort for the remainder of the match, bending over and grabbing her stomach between serves. The opening set started off with consecutive service breaks before Ivanovic held serve in game three. Ivanovic broke Bartoli in the eighth game of the opening set and then served for the set, finishing it off with an ace on the final point. In the first game of the second set, Bartoli double faulted on game point to allow Ivanovic to go ahead 1-0.
Ivanovic has now made it to at least the Indian Wells quarter-finals on five occasions, winning title four years ago. Bartoli’s exit means that both last year’s winner Wozniacki and runner-up are out of the women’s draw.