Austrian victory suggests Ivanovic is starting to regain best form
Published:It took a very dogged display from Kim Clijsters to see off Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round of the US Open, and while Ivanovic left Flushing Meadows disappointed, her performance was a sign that the Serb was finding the form that led to her 2008 French Open win.
Since her US Open exit, Ivanovic has exited early in Tokyo to Marion Bartoli, lost in the fourth round to world number one Caroline Wozniacki in Beijing before beating Patty Schnyder in Sunday’s Generali Ladies Linz final.
The Bartoli result aside, that’s impressive form from Ivanovic and we may see a strong challenge from the Serb in next year’s grand slam tournaments.
Ivanovic didn’t drop a set throughout the whole Generali Ladiez Linz tournament and her 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Schnyder proved that Ivanovic was the standout player in the entry list for the Austrian tournament.
The Australian Open is the first grand slam tournament of 2011 and it’s the scene of Ivanovic’s best performance on a hard court when she made the 2008 final, losing to Maria Sharapova in straight sets.
Ivanovic heads to Luxembourg this week for the BGL Luxembourg Open and she will join Elena Dementieva and Yanina Wickmayer in a field that only contains three of the world’s top 20.
Ivanovic starts her challenge against Johanna Larsson of Sweden on Tuesday and is a 1/10 favourite to progress into the second round.
The two have never met before but the Swede, ranked 64 in the world, should not pose any problems to a high in confidence Ivanovic, and the Serb should win in straight sets.
Elena Dementieva, the 2008 champion, opens her tournament against Shuai Peng from China and is also 1/10 to progress in the WTA betting.
Britain’s Anne Keothavong is in action on Monday and she is 6/4 to beat Virginie Razzano. See the full BGL Luxembourg Open betting odds market here.
