ROME — In a matchup of former French Open champions, 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3 Monday in a windy first-round match at the Italian Open.
Ivanovic is approaching the top 10 again after a difficult stretch in her career that included four first-round losses at Grand Slams. She attributes part of her turnaround to her coach, Nigel Sears, after they started working together following Wimbledon last year.
“He is very calm and I am a perfectionist and sometimes I try to do too much at the same time, and so he is very reasonable when he comes onto the court ... so this helps me to calm down a lot,” Ivanovic said.
In a night match at the Foro Italico, Francesca Schiavone was defeated in front of her home fans by 39th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-4. This tournament is the last major clay-court warm-up for the French, which starts in two weeks.
Also, 12th-seeded Angelique Kerber rallied past Australian qualifier Anastasia Rodionova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, and Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden cruised past 2010 champion Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-3, 6-2.
In men’s action, 16th-ranked Fernando Verdasco eased into the second round when Alexandr Dolgopolov retired with a stomach ache.
Coming off a win over Rafael Nadal in Madrid last week, Verdasco won the first set 6-0. Dolgopolov then called for the trainer and clutched his stomach as he went over to shake Verdasco’s hand and concede.
Twelfth-seeded Nicolas Almagro defeated Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 13th-seeded Gael Monfils beat Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia 6-4, 6-1, and Australian teenager Bernard Tomic rallied past Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a meeting with top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Tuesday night.
Others advancing included David Nalbandian of Argentina, Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland and Italian wild card Fabio Fognini.
Federer eyeing No. 1 spot
After capturing the Madrid Open title and knowing he will climb back above Rafa Nadal to No. 2 in the world, Roger Federer has set his sights on reclaiming the top ranking.
The resurgent 30-year-old Swiss came from a set down to beat Tomas Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the Madrid final Sunday, a fourth title of the year and a third in the Spanish capital that put him level on 20 Masters crowns with great rival Nadal. Success in one of the upcoming Grand Slams could catapult him above Novak Djokovic to No. 1, a position he last held in May 2010, and he would then equal, and almost certainly break, his hero Pete Sampras’ record of 286 weeks at the top.
A buoyant Federer told a news conference that would be “absolutely amazing”. “Back then I was just trying to stay world No. 1 and I never really looked at Pete’s record that much,” he said.
“I guess I could have chased it a few years ago, just really trying to beat that record,” added the 16-time Grand Slam singles champion.
“It’s no secret for any player out there that you’d rather be No. 1 than No. 2.
“But I look at the long term, maybe if I wasn’t good enough to break that record then maybe I never will be.” — Agencies
