Ana Ivanovic Ousted By Zheng
Ana edged out by Zheng
September 26, 2008 / Beijing, China
Ana lost a tense three-set battle with world No.30 Zheng Jie in the quarter-finals of the China Open. The second seed was beaten 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted almost three hours.
Zheng was always destined to present problems for the 20-year-old thanks to her sublime consistency. Ana attempted to work her way into the match, and did so skilfully, playing within herself as she took a 5-3 lead.
However, some uncharacteristic forehand errors crept into her game and Zheng pounced, breaking back to the delight of the partisan home crowd.
At 5-5 Ana made a successful Hawk-Eye challenge. Zheng was incensed, seemingly because she had not been able to see the device's judgement due to a technical failure. Instead, the umpire announced the result and Zheng remonstrated with her for several minutes.
The ruling gave Ana a break point, which she took, but she was again unable to serve out the set. Zheng was on top throughout the tiebreak, which she won 7-4.
The opening exchanges in the second set were cagey, but Ana seized the initiative and took it 6-2.
She led 40-15 on serve at 1-1 in the decider and looked the more likely winner, but Zheng refused to give in and drew some groundstroke mistakes out of the French Open champion. She broke to lead 2-1.
Ana had chances to break back several games later but Zheng held firm. She eventually clinched victory after two hours and 54 minutes.
"I felt like I played quite well today, considering my lack of matches," said Ana. "But I didn't take my chances and I should have been a bit more aggressive, especially with m returns. She played very well and was the better player today.
"This tournament has definitely been a step forward. I'm still working my way back and I just have to be patient."
