Ivanovic Exits and Sharapova Advances at China Open
Eleventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was upset Wednesday at the China Open, falling to Switzerland’s Romina Oprandi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Oprandi’s win was the third-best win of her career, following wins over then-world number two-ranked Kim Clijsters last year and then-number 11-ranked Francesca Schiavone at the Australian Open earlier this year.
"Romina’s a tricky opponent—she has really good hands and is a very talented girl," said Ivanovic. "I really struggled to find my rhythm out there, especially on the forehand. The ball wasn’t coming with much pace and I wasn’t really efficient in moving forward and taking advantage of that. I always felt I was lacking a little step here and there, and I wasn’t adjusting very well. I’d seen her play before and expected that, and I got to pretty much all of the shots, but it was the unforced errors that made a big difference today."
Second-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia defeated Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-2 to advance in Beijing.
"I had never played Sorana before but she has beaten top players and is one of those players who can come out and just have a great day," Sharapova said. "She hits really flat and hard, so I tried to play aggressively and take her time away. I’m happy I played a shorter match than I did in the first round."
Also eliminated from contention was Jelena Jankovic, who came out strong in her match against Carla Suárez Navarro, racing out to a 5-2 first set lead, but Navarro worked her way back to a 7-5, 6-4 triumph.
Also on Wednesday, the ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-6(2); and the number three seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the third set to defeat Spanish qualifier Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
