https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGFMLs1vX8U
(video courtesy of Roland Sports)
For all the talk and attention Djokovic garners constantly around the grounds and beyond at Melbourne Park, his Serbian counterpart on the women’s side has eased herself through to the 3rd round after her straight sets win this morning against Sevastova 6-3, 6-3.
The popular Serbian, who is currently ranked #23, was able to serve well today, which proved to be key in her win. As history has shown, her serve has the tendency to be very inconsistent. Both players began their campaign without nerves, playing aggressively right from the first ball. Anastasija Sevastova showcased plenty of pace on her groundstrokes, but showed why she is ranked much lower at #113 in her lack of consistency. Points that lasted more than 5 shots often found her committing the unforced error. This pattern would repeat throughout the match. In the 5th game it was enough to give the early break for 2-3. On the other side of the net, Ana continued to serve well, and held at love for 4-2.
In a shocking turn of events, right before the start of the 8th game, a spectator collapsed in the packed stadium, and medics were rushed to the scene. Play was eventually suspended for over 30 minutes! If this was the perfect opportunity for Sevastova to regroup, she failed to take advantage. After a quick warm up, Ana held again to lead 5-3. Here the much lower seed revealed another weakness in her mental fortitude as she played a few lazy points, to give Ivanovic 2 set points. She then proceeded to double fault to end give away the first set.
The momentum carried over to the 2nd set as Ivanovic started using more variety in her shots, complete with a dropshot winner for the early break at 2-0. Not to be outdone, Sevastova imitated the strategy to great success. But the unforced errors continued to plague her during long rallies. To Ana’s credit, she played very well on defense, often chasing down wide angled shots from sideline to sideline until her opponent coughed up yet another shot out. With 2 match points at 5-3, Ivanovic then threw in a double fault. But she recovered quickly and converted the 2nd match point, followed by her trademark fist pump. Ana only faced a single break point in the 90 minute match. Novak would be proud! She may face the 15th seed from USA Madison Keys in the next round.
