Ivanovic Too Strong for Bouchard in Singapore

Ana Ivanovic rebounded from an opening match loss to Serena Williams by cruising past Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-1, 6-3 in Singapore on Wednesday.

“This is the beauty of the round-robin system. I really tried to come out here and just enjoy the match,” said Ivanovic. “I’d lost to her twice before, so today I tried to be aggressive and step in. I did this well and I’m really pleased with how I played.”

The Serb was the more focused and energetic player from the beginning. Her serve was extremely sharp in the opening set, losing just two points all frame long when getting her first serve in play. She would notch break points in the second and fourth games to cruise to the 6-1 first set win.

After a stern pep talk from her coach, Bouchard looked more competitive in the second set. The two would exchange holds and breaks to bring the set to 3-3 as a potential turning point presented itself to the 20-year old Canadian. The seventh game would go to a deuce and Bouchard would fight off six break points on her own serve, before Ivanovic finally broke to jump ahead 4-3.

With momentum squarely on the Serb’s side, she would hold and notch another break point to wrap up the straight-set victory in 83 minutes.

“The seventh game was huge,” said Ivanovic. “I had lots of break opportunities that I didn’t covert so to get that me in the end was great and then I won a tough service game. I was just taking it one point at a time.”

After reaching the semifinals of the first three Grand Slams of 2014, Bouchard’s play has dipped significantly in the latter half of the year including early exits at the Rogers Cup and U.S. Open. She is now 0-2 in Singapore.

“I still had the belief I can try to work my way into it, which is what I’ve done in the past,” said Bouchard. “You’re never 100 percent perfectly prepared for every event. Just unfortunate that it would happen at a big event like this one.”

She will play Serena next and has a slim mathematical chance, even if she beats Serena, of advancing out of the group stage. Ivanovic will take on Simona Halep on Friday.

In the White Group on Thursday, Agnieszka Radwanska meets Caroline Wozniacki, while Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova duel.