Winning the first eight points of the match set the tone for Ivanovic as she quickly broke then held serve for a 2-0 first set lead. Ivanovic increased her lead to 5-1 before a Zvonareva backhand down the line winner on game point drew her to 5-2.
After more steady play from Ivanovic, another groundstroke error on set point from Zvonareva would end the set 6-2.
Ivanovic started the second set the same as the first as she went ahead 2-0 before Zvonareva held serve to reach 2-1. Zvonareva would net a backhand on breakpoint in her next service game however to fall behind 1-4. Ivanovic held her final service game of the match at love to reach 5-1.
Serving to stay in the match, Zvonareva doublefaulted and netted a crosscourt backhand to face matchpoint. A final Zvonareva unforced error ended the contest as she would send a backhand down the line long.
"I'm really disappointed with how I played today; I had no concentration at any stage of the match," said Zvonareva. "Maybe today I finally paid for all of the travelling and the many matches I've played over the last several weeks. Against a player like Ana you have to be one hundred percent; she played well and I wasn't in it at all.”
After taking her lone career grand slam title in June at the French Open, Ivanovic suffered six early round WTA Tour defeats in part due to a thumb injury. Then last week, the fourth ranked Ivanovic enjoyed one of her best tournament weeks of the year; reaching the semifinals at Zurich before losing to Wimbledon champion Venus Williams of the USA 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
"When I went out there today I expected a very tough match, and I played well from the first point," Ivanovic said. "I had to be aggressive and put pressure on her and it worked, because I could see she was going for some risky shots.”
Ivanovic briefly reached the WTA Tour's world number one ranking in June and has qualified for the WTA Tour's year end championships. The Sony Ericsson Championships are to be played the week of November 3rd at Doha, Qatar.
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