Ivanovic upset in Melbourne

Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic crashed out of the Australian Open
on the opening day, losing in three sets to Czech world No
142 Lucie Hradecka.
Ivanovic looked to be in charge of the contest on Rod
Laver Arena when she took the first set for the loss of just
one game, but won just five more to suffer only the second
first-round loss of her career in Melbourne, 1-6 6-3 6-2 in
front of her stunned supporters at Rod Laver Arena.
The former world No 1 reached the quarter-finals here last
year and came into the event on the back of reaching the
final of the recent WTA Tour event in Brisbane.
But Hradecka, who won a silver medal in doubles at the
London Olympics and has three Grand Slam doubles titles,
refused to be intimidated by an opponent ranked 137
places above her.
The 27-year-old Serbian was not the only seed to make an
early exit, with 32nd seed Belinda Bencic beaten 6-2 6-1
by Julia Goerges, while 27th seed and former US Open
champion Svetlana Kuznetsova also lost in straight sets to
France's Caroline Garcia.
Third seed Simona Halep lost the first two games of her
match with Italy's Karin Knapp, but bounced back to win
6-3 6-2.
ToughIvanovic, whose sole grand slam title came in the
French Open in 2008, said: "I think the whole match I didn't
really feel like myself out there. It was really tough for me
to find my rhythm.
"There is always nerves in the beginning. I felt like I was
maybe lacking a little bit of practice this week. I had some
issues. But I played okay in the beginning. Just I felt
second and third set I really dropped my level.
"It's really disappointing. You know, it's probably the
worst thing could happen. But still, the year is young and I
really have to now sit and work on few things and just
maybe try to have a different approach to this kind of
event and try to see what was lacking."
Hradecka, who will face Polona Hercog of Slovenia in the
second round, was still pinching herself after claiming the
biggest scalp of her career.
"I was so nervous in the beginning and at the end, my
hands were shaking," she said.
It is not the first time Hradecka has proved an irritant to
Ivanovic, with the Czech taking her to three sets in the
opening round of Wimbledon in 2009, only to let victory
slip away when she squandered two match points.
"I'm so happy that I did it this time," she said.
Former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki was another seed
to bow out, the German 28th seed losing in three sets to
France's Kristina Mladenovic.
Courtesy: Skysports news
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