Former Wimbledon semifinalist, Ana Ivanovic made her debut on Court 12 against Ekaterina Alexandrova. The Russian, currently ranked number 227 in the world, had to qualify for the main draw and in that process, played two marathon matches. As for the Serbian, she only played one event prior Wimbledon at Mallorca where she reached the quarterfinals. Ivanovic’s year has not been great and her first round at The All England Club wasn’t either as she suffered a straight-sets upset by the Russian.
Alexandrova surprises Ivanovic by taking the opening set
In just the second point of the set, the Serbian hit her first double fault but recovered from that when her opponent hit three straight unforced errors to helped the Serb win the opening game. The Russian, who is playing her first main draw match at a Grand Slam, kept her composure and closed the game with two aces. Ivanovic had no problem holding her next service game as Alexandrova gifted her three game points, which the Serbian eventually would close with a backhand winner. Not to be outdone, the Russian did the same and took advantage of the unforced errors Ivanovic was making to level things up to 2-2. The errors from the previous game followed Ivanovic into her own service game as she hit two unforced errors to help her opponent get the first break points of the set. A forehand miss by Ivanovic gave Alexandrova the lead in the first set, which she later consolidated with her serve to be up 4-2.
In the seventh game, Ivanovic was up 40-0 on her serve, but a series of mistakes and good winners from the Russian erased those game points. Once again, it was the Russian who had another break point and just like in the past game, she only needed that break point to extend her lead and have the opportunity to serve for the set. On set point, the Russian hit her first double fault, but she would get another one after Ivanovic committed a forehand unforced error. Alexandrova grabbed the first set 6-2 in just 24 minutes after the Serbian missed an easy volley.
Ivanovic is broken at the worst time
Ivanovic opened the second set hitting an ace to later be able to win her opening service game after having been broken in the last two. For the first time in the match, the Serbian had an opportunity to break but missed the chance when she hit a backhand unforced error. The Russian recovered from that scare and went on to hold. Again, it was Ivanovic who got harmed first as she saved one break point, but lost her game after another unforced error. However, the lead didn’t last long for the Russian, who finally was broken after an erratic game, hitting a double fault on break point. Just when it seemed like Ivanovic was back on track, she was given an unpleasant surprise from her opponent, who played an almost flawless game to break the former world number one again and lead 3-2. The Russian later would have a hard time consolidating the break on her serve, but after two mistakes from Ivanovic, was able to keep the lead and be up 4-2.
The Serbian would hold to stay close in the scoreboard. A long game for the Russian saw her save one break point and then get through four deuces, however, her unforced errors didn’t help and Ivanovic was able to break to be back in the set and level things up to 4-4. After being a break down, Ivanovic completed her service game and lead 5-4. The Russian did the same to equalize. But in the next game, three forehand winners in a row gave the Russian the break in a terrible moment for Ivanovic, who needed to break to stay in the match.
The Serbian had break points being 15-40 up, but the Russian saved those after a missed return by Ivanovic, followed by an ace. Another chance to break would happen for Ivanovic when Alexandrova hit a double fault, showing her frustration as she dropped her racquet. That bad moment didn’t last long as she would then hit a great serve to save another break point. A fantastic forehand gave the qualifier match point, which she would confirm with another ace. And with that, Alexandrova reached the second round of a major for the first time in one hour and 12 minutes, 6-2, 7-5.
Alexandrova to meet Friedsam next
After stunning a former world number one, the 21-year-old player from Russia will face Anna-Lena Friedsam in the second round. The German reached the second round of Wimbledon last year but lost to Belinda Bencic in three sets. This encounter will mark the second match between them, Alexandrova won their only meeting at the ITF event in Kreuzlingen, where the Russian won in straight sets.