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28.05.2005
French
hopes fade as Ivanovic bounces out Mauresmo
By Guillaume Baraise
Third
seed Amélie Mauresmo has exited her home Grand
Slam for another year, shocked 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 by
17-year-old Ana Ivanovic. The player from Serbia and
Montenegro held off a courageous comeback from the
French favourite to earn a well deserved and hard fought
victory.
At
least Amélie Mauresmo can take some consolation
from the fact that she made a fist of it. A set down,
1-3 and 15-40 on her own serve, it looked as though she
had blown it, falling once again victim to stage fright.
If anything though, her admirable fightback makes her
eventual loss all the more frustrating.
Once
she had scraped and scrapped back to one set all, the
feeling in Philippe Chatrier Court was that Amélie
had done the hard part, and that the third set should be
hers. The talk in the stands was turning optimistically
to easier challenges to come at the last sixteen and
even quarter-final stage. Unfortunately for the home
crowd, young Ana Ivanovic had other ideas.
Yannick
Noah, French Open champion of 1983 was in the stands to
watch the player he has been mentoring these past few
weeks. But even his reassuring presence and pre-match
pep talk was not enough as Mauresmo once again failed to
perform to her true potential at Roland Garros.
The
local girl cannot be blamed for taking her young
adversary lightly either. Well aware of Ivanovic's
burgeoning talent, Amélie had beaten the teenager
three times already this season. She knew only too well
that Ivanovic plays without fear and would seize on any
stress-induced deficiency in her game.
So
it turned out in the first set as Ivanovic served out
from 5-4 after a series of breaks back and forth.
Things
got even worse for Mauresmo at the start of the second
set. She soon found herself 3-1 and 15-40 down after
watching three forehand winners fly by and land on the
baseline. Then, suddenly, as if realizing the
seriousness of her predicament, Mauresmo began swinging
at the ball freely, giving free rein to her naturally
devastating game. She held serve, broke back and
clinched the set 6-3 after one hour 23 minutes.
The
ensuing Mexican wave spoke volumes of the relief in the
stands. Ivanovic, however, was unperturbed and responded
brilliantly by attacking the Mauresmo service and coming
to the net to hit clever winners. She broke to 3-1 but
Mauresmo found the resources to fight back to 3-3.
Nonetheless
the tide had turned. Ivanovic was in the ascendancy now,
and grabbed her opportunity when Mauresmo faltered on
her serve at 4-5. Yet more thunderous forehand drives,
and a 10th double fault from the French girl handed
Ivanovic victory.
A
look at the stats only serves to confirm that the Serbia
and Montenegran had earned her success. Her 42 winners
to Maursemo's 21 reflect Ivanovic's greater risk-taking.
Mauresmo
was gracious in defeat: "The first reason today was
Ivanovic who gave me a lot of trouble, and played some
great tennis."
Translation:
David Tutton (Sportstranslations)
"Well,
I'm really pleased I took my opportunities," said
Ivanovic after the biggest win of her career. "I
think she also had some opportunities, but still I think
I played very well in the end and I think that's what
decided today."
More about this match on eurosport
review.
| Match Summary |
|
|
| |
Ivanovic |
Maursemo |
| 1st
Serve % |
45
of 87 = 52 % |
61
of 104 = 59 % |
| Aces |
0 |
1 |
| Double
Faults |
6 |
10 |
| Unforced
Errors |
35 |
32 |
| Winning
% on 1st Serve |
25
of 45 = 56 % |
36
of 61 = 59 % |
| Winning
% on 2nd Serve |
22
of 42 = 52 % |
16
of 43 = 37 % |
| Winners
(Including Service) |
42 |
21 |
| Receiving
Points Won |
46
of 94 = 49 % |
30
of 81 = 37 % |
| Break
Point Conversions |
7
of 13 = 54 % |
6
of 11 = 55 % |
| Net
Approaches |
23
of 35 = 66 % |
15
of 25 = 60 % |
| Total
Points Won |
99 |
92 |
|
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21.05.2005
