Maria Sharapova out in another early upset in Australia Open |
Third-seeded Maria Sharapova has been eliminated in the
fourth round of the Australian Open, losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to
Dominika Cibulkova in the second major upset in 24 hours
on Rod Laver Arena.
Sharapova struggled with her serve Monday, hitting seven
double-faults in the third set, and needed an off-court
medical time out after the second set for what appeared to
be a lower back problem.
The four-time major winner was two tournaments into a
The four-time major winner was two tournaments into a
comeback from a prolonged layoff with a right shoulder injury.
Serena Williams knocked out by Ana Ivanovic :
Former world number one Ana Ivanovic pulled off a massive
upset by beating top seed Serena Williams on Sunday to
power into the Australian Open quarter-finals. The Serb
came from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, ending Williams'
bid to match Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18
Grand Slam titles.
Williams, who was gunning for a sixth Australian crown, did
not appear to be moving freely with unconfirmed reports that
she was carrying an injury. She pulled out of the doubles on
Friday, although that was blamed on an injury to sister
Venus.
It was a major scalp for Ivanovic, 26, and set up a last-eight
clash against either Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard or
local hope Casey Dellacqua. "It's amazing, I just wanted to
play the best I could," said Ivanovic. "I'm so thrilled that I
played so well. I was very consistent and I'm happy about
that."
Since winning at Roland Garros in 2008, Ivanovic, ranked
14, has only made a Grand Slam quarter-final once before,
at the 2012 US Open. But under new coach Nemanja Kontic,
the Serb has been thriving and came into Melbourne on the
back of winning her 12th career title in Auckland.
She ground down Williams with her sizzling groundstrokes
for her first win against the American in five encounters.
Despite the shock loss, Williams set a new record by
appearing in her 70th match at the Australian Open,
surpassing the previous record held by Lindsay Davenport.
Williams, 32, started with two double faults, helping Ivanovic
to three break point chances, but the world number one
saved them all and regrouped to win the game. The serve of
Ivanovic lacked the power of her opponent but she mixed it
up enough to hold.
Williams blasted through her next service game and Ivanovic
who has family in Melbourne and is popular with Australian
fans, earning her the nickname "Aussie Ana", rallied from
two points down in the next to hold.
The Serb was moving well and a cross-court forehand gave
her a break point on the next Williams serve and she
grabbed the chance, with the American sending a backhand
into the net. But her advantage didn't last long with a poor
service game allowing Williams to level. The cool Williams
held serve to be 4-3 in front, yelling her first "C'mon!" as she
pumped herself up.
Ivanovic took it to 4-4 and Williams' lightning fast serves saw
her hold before she turned up the heat and took the set on
her second break point. The second set went to serve until
the fifth game when Ivanovic worked her way to two break
points. Williams saved one with a towering serve but she
lost the other, failing to bury a forehand into an open court.
The Serb had another two break points in the seventh game
as Williams came under increasing pressure, but she rose to
the occasion, once again saving. For the third Williams
serve in a row, Ivanovic worked her way to break points and
while the American again saved two, she couldn't stop a
raking forehand winner on the third. Williams was being worn
down and the Serb scored a big break to go 2-0 in front in
the third set and then held serve to take control. The
despondent American was broken again to go 4-1 and while
she saved one match point in the eighth, Ivanovic served to
love for a famous win.
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