Venus Squeaks by Rising Teen Qualifier
October 21, 2004
Venus Squeaks by Rising Teen Qualifier
ZURICH, Switzerland - Venus Williams received quite a challenge on Thursday in
Zurich by a qualifier clearly on the rise in women's tennis.
The No.7 seed won in straight sets but not without sweating through a pair of
grueling tie-breaks before defeating 16-year-old Ana Ivanovic 76(11) 76(6).
In both sets, Williams jumped out to early leads only to see Ivanovic chip
away at those advantages and pull herself back into the match. Williams gained
a 4-1 lead in the first set before Ivanovic marched back and saved a set
point at 5-4 to force the first tie-break.
In a gripping tie-break, Ivanovic held five set points at 6-5, 7-6, 8-7, 9-8
and 10-9 before yielding the set to Williams, 13-11, in a tie-break that
electrified the crowd with incredible exchanges from both the baseline and
the net.
Williams also pulled ahead with a break in the second to go up 4-2 before
Ivanovic again showed determination to stay in the match and even things up.
After once again going to a tie-break, Ivanovic held three set points at 6-3,
but Williams produced two solid points on her serve and Ivanovic netted a
backhand volley on a shot from Williams that appeared to be sailing long.
From there, Williams put away the final point of the match and showed relief
that she survived the exciting match.
"She played nicely, but it was more to do with the way I was playing,"
Williams said. "If I hadn't have let a 4-1 lead in the first and 4-2 in the
second slip, it wouldn't have been so tough."
After surviving an epic first-round match against fellow 16-year-old Tatiana
Golovin in the first round and then stretching Williams to the limit in her
second match, Ivanovic has shown the tennis world that a new star in women's
tennis has been born.
"I'm disappointed to lose today when I came so close, but it's been a great
experience for me," Ivanovic said. "Whether I win or lose, I have a lot of
good things I've learned this week and in this match.
"At the beginning of the match against Venus I just wanted to make sure it
wasn't an easy match for her, but then I played my game a lot more and I was
happy with the way I performed today. Next week I play in Luxembourg, so I
just hope I can keep improving and getting experience at this level."
Next up for Williams in the quarterfinals will be No.3 seed Maria Sharapova,
whom the American will play for the first time.
For the third time in the past month, Elena Dementieva got the best of fellow
Russian Elena Bovina, this time winning 75 36 60 to move into the
quarterfinals.
The No.3 seed, who also defeated Bovina in the final at Hasselt and the
semifinals in Moscow, used some aggressive play from the baseline and
demonstrated improvement with her service game to creep into the final eight
in Zurich.
Dementieva will next face No.9 seed Ai Sugiyama for a spot in the semifinals.
2002 champion Patty Schnyder has returned to the quarterfinals in her homeland,
defeating Colombian Fabiola Zuluaga 64 63. Schnyder's variety of shots proved
too crafty for Zuluaga who struggled with the Swiss player's all-corner
attack that featured angled shots, drops and lobs.
Schnyder will next take aim at the semifinals when she faces Argentina's
Paola Suarez, who reached the quarters after second-round opponent Emilie
Loit retired with a left knee strain while trailing 61 2-2.
Loit entered the tournament as a lucky loser, replacing countrywoman Amelie
Mauresmo earlier this week. The win by Suarez was her second of the week
against a lucky loser after defeating Jelena Kostanic in her first-round match.
In the final singles match of the day, No.8 seed Nadia Petrova dropped a
first-set tie-break but still managed to win the next two sets to defeat
France's Nathalie Dechy 67(6) 64 63. Petrova will next take on Australia's
Alicia Molik for a spot in the semifinals.
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---禪心已作沾泥絮，莫向春風舞鷓鴣---
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