News Archive

   NEWS OF  Wimbledon Championships

  01.07.2004 
      Ivanovic Enters Semi-finals

No.3 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro secured her path to the semi-finals of the Girls' Singles after beating eighth seed Russian Alisa Kleybanova 7-6, 6-1 today.

Ivanovic has dropped only one singles match this year. As she competed against the Russian in windy weather on Court 11, the 17-year-old indicated that she is in no mood to dilute her record.

A gifted player with a wide variety of shots, Ivanovic exhausted Kleybanova in the first set which ended in a tie-break. Both players religiously held on to their serves and kept testing each other's energy and stamina level. But in the end it was Ivanovic who came out on the top.

A tired looking Kleybanova lost her composure and control in the second set. She was broken in the first game and her endurance was further pushed as Ivanovic made her labour to reach for balls. She lost her second serve in a row and struggled with her double handed backhand. Her forehands too suffered on accuracy.

Klyebanova's poor form continued as in the next game she failed to cash in the only breakpoint she had in the second set. Ivanovic sensed victory and started playing cross court forehands to further exhaust her Russian rival. The long rallies took toll on Klyebanova as she double faulted in the seventh game and conceded the game, set and match to a fabulously tossed Ivanovic forehand.

Written by Sajid Shaikh 
Wimbledon Championships official site

   NEWS OF  Wimbledon Championships

    03.07.2004  
       Ivanovic Survives Rollercoaster Ride

Third seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro clawed her way to the Girls' Singles final after battling Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka in a closely contested match on Court 19 today.

The clash was arguably the most exciting and thrilling encounter of the Junior Championships so far. It ran into a 22-game marathon final set, with Ivanovic eventually winning 6-0, 1-6 and 12-10.

The overnight tie between the No. 3 and No. 9 seeds swung like a pendulum in the decider. Earlier Ivanovic scored an impressive first set victory, beating her rival six games to love. But she slumped in the next set to a determined Azarenka who pushed the match into a final set. Play was then suspended yesterday with the score line standing at 6-0, 1-6, 2-2.

When play resumed this morning the match took a dramatic turn and brought out the best performance from the two fiercely competitive girls. It also produced highly emotional scenes with both girls crying when losing points on their serves.

Azarenka served out the unfinished fifth game at 15-30 but double faulted to give away two break points. She pulled it back to deuce but conceded the game to a good dropshot played by Ivanovic, who served out the next game and consolidated her lead to 4-2.

The expected quick finish was now imminent. But a valiant Azarenka made a surprise comeback, taking the seventh game to love and went on to break Ivanovic in the eighth game with a combination of lobs and drop shots. The score now stood at 4-4.

But just when everything looked under control for Azarenka, Ivanovic drove her on the backfoot again. The game turned out to be a mini-marathon with eighth deuces brought on by superb volleying, backhands and forehands from both players. But Ivanovic prevailed and snatched the game with a cracking forehand.

Azarenka was broken once again and the match was poised for a decider game. Not yet, though. For, once more, Azarenka fought back bravely. She stifled her opponent and broke her without conceding any points. The score was now level at 5-5.

In the next game Azarenka held on to her serve. She kept up her onslaught and took Ivanovic by surprise by suddenly shifting from a baseline game to net-play. She fired shots from close to the net and won three match points. A tearful Ivanovic took some time to regain composure before serving. But she turned the game around to level the score at 6-6.

The next eight games saw brilliant tennis from the teenagers. Both held on to their serve but on a couple of occasions came tantalising close to breaking each other.

The two girls produced a classic nail-biting finish. Ivanovic's opportunity came when she hit a good return to break Azarenka in the 21st game and served an ace to take the match.

Written by Sajid Shaikh 
Wimbledon Championships official site

   NEWS OF  Wimbledon Championships

     04.07.2004  
    Bondarenko Crowned Girls' Champion

     Sixth-seeded Katerina Bondarenko of Ukraine clinched the Girls' Singles Championship title by defeating No. 3 seed of Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro. Bondarenko, who reached the finals after removing top seed Michaela Krajicek and fourth seed Shahar Peer from the draw, fought fiercely to take the action-packed three setter, 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2.

Ivanovic won the toss and decided to serve. But in the very first game she was sapped of energy by the sturdier-looking Ukrainian who turned the tables and took the game to deuce from a 40-15 score. Bondarenko then blasted some fabulous forehand drives. She made Ivanovic run from one corner to the other, forced her to lob the ball and then sent down an unstoppable volley. The match was on. Ivanovic fought back hard, saving five break points, but soon ran out of options. Eventually, Bondarenko broke her.
The second game turned out to be equally exciting. Bondarenko struggled to keep her serve as Ivanovic started hitting the ball furiously. But five deuces later, Bondarenko managed to take back the initiative. Twice she saved break points and won the game to lead 2-0.

Charged up, Ivanovic wasted no time in collecting the third game. She drove back her attacking opponent and forced her to play a more defensive game. Having managed that, she now generated more pace on her returns, stood close to the net and hit the ball with contempt. A bewildered Bondarenko stood motionless as Ivanovic broke her back to level the score 2-2.

Another exciting phase of tennis ensued as both girls broke each other in the next two games. The score now was levelled at 3-3. Bondarenko served out the next game and took it to love. She maintained the lead by once more breaking Ivanovic in the ninth game and easily held her serve to take the set 6-4.

Ivanovic regrouped to take the first game of the second set with a fierce serve that clocked 111mph. Bondarenko came out equally confident. She held her serve and broke Ivanovic to lead 2-1.

Ivanovic kept fumbling and struggled to keep her serve. She kept conceding break points and trailed at 2-4. But in the next game fought back bravely to break Bondarenko, and served to take the contest to 4-4.

The girls once again broke each other to level and force a tiebreak at 6-6. Ivanovic, though, proved more consistent and took it 7-2.

In the final set, Bondarenko once again broke Ivanovic's serve to take a 3-1 lead. Tears rolled down Ivanovic's cheeks. The pressure mounted further as she subsequently failed to cash in two break points.
The day belonged to Bondarenko. A double fault by Ivanovic gave Bondarenko her third match point, and she didn't falter. 

Written by Sajid Shaikh 
Wimbledon Championships official site