Ana Ivanovic made the second round while Germany’s Angelique Kerber carried her good form into Doha by upsetting ninth seeded Sabine Lisicki in three sets in the first round of the WTA Qatar Open on Tuesday. Ivanovic was denied a full match as rival Carla Suarez Navarro retired with a back problem in the second set. It was the fourth time in as many matches that Kerber had got the better of her compatriot, who is ranked 14th in the world and considered as one of the rising stars of the game. “She is a great player who is also a good friend, so it’s not easy playing against her,” Kerber, who won the Paris Indoors last week, said after her 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory. “We travel together and live in the same hotels, but I was focused on my game,” Kerber added.
Kerber’s form has been nothing short of spectacular recently, the German reaching at least the semis in six of the past 10 tournaments she played before winning her first WTA title in Paris where she beat Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the final.
“I am really playing well, but this is a big tournament with many stars playing, but I will really try my best,” said the world’s 22-ranked player. The top eight players in the field have been given first round byes and will see action only on Wednesday, with world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark the favourites.
Ivanovic, the former world number one, who has now slipped to 19th in the rankings, had won the first set 6-1 and was leading 4-1 in the second when her Spanish rival quit after receiving courtside treatment. And the Serbian star knows she has a long way to go before she reaches the level that saw her win the French Open in 2008.
“I think it’s different in the sense that now a lot more girls can challenge top players from the early rounds,” Ivanovic said.
“That’s exciting for us, because we do want challenges. But I feel like those girls that are on top at the moment, they’re playing very aggressively, and that’s the way you have to play in order to win. “It’s a big challenge for us to raise our level.”
But despite the challenges, the Serbian beauty added that her goal was to get as higher in the rankings as possible.
“Well, that’s why I’m here,” she said when asked if she was targeting the number one status again.” she said.
“If I didn’t think so, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here. But, yeah, I definitely believe so.”
Meanwhile, former US and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova survived a tough first set to beat Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez 7-5, 6-3.
“It took me a while to understand her game but I played well,” said the 18th ranked Russian.
“The first match is always tough but Doha is one of my favourite destinations and I like playing here,” added Kuznetsova, who won 13 titles and was runner-up in 19 tournaments on the WTA Tour.
