Ana Ivanovic found herself out early for the second year in a row at the US Open Tuesday. The former number one underperformed on the court against Denisa Allertova who went to win the first round in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-1 at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The Serb got an easier draw in her 12th appearance at the Open than she did last year taking on Dominika Cibulkova. Ivanovic came into New York facing Allertova for the first time in what was her first match in weeks. Both hadn’t seen much action in some time leaving the door open for either of them to make the second round. Gaining a positive start for the experienced Serb could play the heavy role of being the frontrunner in the match.
She made a statement early breaking Allertova with a triple point victory. Ivanovic’s opening service saw a challenge from the Czech pushed it to deuce but couldn’t lock down the win. The same went into the third with Allertova unable to close out the victory over Ivanovic. It wasn’t until the second break that she got hold of the advantage to get on the scoreboard.
The set remained a tight battle between the two with Ivanovic gaining some ground in the fourth leading 3-1. By the fifth, Allertova stayed within a game and pressured Ivanovic to drop control. She had a 5-4 hold serving for the match but struggles from the Serb caused her to lose out with an early exit from the first to play more tennis.
The Serb got another chance to put the Czech out of commission in the set but a fight from the 23-year-old forced the set into a tiebreaker. It was a last chance for Ivanovic who was straining to find some consistency. She let go of the lead in the break giving the Czech a break to take the lead. She finished ahead of Ivanovic to take the set after 53 minutes of play. Ivanovic had a real problem with her game committing four double faults and had twice as many unforced errors as Allertova.
Her problems rolled into the second that easily gave Allertova a 2-0 lead in the second set. Ivanovic managed a victory in the third despite looking dejected on court. The feeling was fed upon by the Czech who climbed further up taking a 4-1 lead. Another strong serve for Allertova gave her a chance for an upset as she moved within a game of the match playing against the Serb who looked all but out.
She allowed the Czech to get back into the game with unforced errors and a double fault. A final rally ended with Ivanovic chasing for a shot where her return didn’t make it over the net ending the match at 1 hour and 18 minutes. While Allertova celebrated a good win on the day, Ivanovic faced the thought of another early exit in a major event.
Through 20 games, the Serb racked up seven double faults and 41 unforced errors. With a low first and second serve percentage, it left the door wide open for Allertova to walk over her like she did in the second set. The Czech won 9 of 11 points near the net carrying a strong second serve near 70 percent.
With success coming right off the bat, Allertova will use it for her second round match against Italy’s Karin Knapp or Johanna Larsson of Sweden on Thursday.
Photo by: Elsa/Getty Images
Photo by: Elsa/Getty Images
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