Ivanovic Says Goodbye, Serena, Kuznetsova Move On!

June 27th, 2008

London, England

A day after Maria Sharapova was shown the door, the world number 1, Ana Ivanovic was too escorted away from Wimbledon a loser. The Roland Garros champion hasn't looked comfortable at all on the grass and in her last two matches especially it showed that she wouldn't be a favorite for the title. Last years Semi-Finalist, this year it seemed too much pressure was on her young shoulders. Jie Zheng took every oppurtunity to defeat the Serbian and it worked, Zheng won the match 6-1, 6-4 and now moves on to the Round of 16.

Serena Williams was facing a tough opponent in 2006 champion, Amelie Mauresmo. The two have mostly had battles in the past, especially the unforgettable one back in the Semi-Finals of Wimbledon in 2004. However, both players are different today then they were back then. Serena is trying to re-establish herself as a threat for the title and Mauresmo is just trying to get some match play in as she hasn't been the same since 2006. The first set was tight and hard fought as expected, but Serena just pushed a bit harder to win the tiebreak, 7-6(5). The second set was a blowout as Mauresmo lost her edge and Serena powered through to a 6-1 victory. Serena now faces Bethanie Mattek in the Round of 16, and really seems to only have one hurtle, Kuznestova of Radwanska in the Quarter-Finals. Besides that, it seems Serena is a good choice to make the Finals.

Nicole Vaidasova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska all advanced today. Vaidasova will now take on Anna Chakvetadze in a match to re-establish each players game. Kuznetsova takes on the woman who defeated her in the Third Round at the Australian Open, Radwanska which should be a good match.

Tomorrow Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic return to action as they will both try to reach the Round of 16 and step closer to a meeting that everyone seems to be waiting for between the two in the Quarter-Finals.

Results:

Centre Court:

(6)Serena Williams d. (29)Amelie Mauresmo - 7-6(5), 6-1

Court 1:

Jie Zheng d. (1)Ana Ivanovic - 6-1, 6-4

Court 2:

(4)Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova - 6-2, 6-4

Court 3:

(14)Agnieszka Radwanska d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - 6-3, 6-2

Top 10 Seeds:

1. Ana Ivanovic - Lost in Round 3 (Zheng)

2. Jelena Jankovic - Round 3

3. Maria Sharapova - Lost in Round 2 (Kudryavtseva)

4. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Round of 16

5. Elena Dementieva - Round 3

6. Serena Williams - Round of 16

7. Venus Williams - Round 3

8. Anna Chakvetadze - Round of 16

9. Dinara Safina - Round 3

10. Daniela Hantuchova - Lost in Round 2 (Kleybanova)