In another fascinating WTA match in Madrid, Carla Suarez Navarro sealed her first ever win against Ana Ivanovic and extended her three set record in 2015 to 14-3 with a 7-5 1-6 6-4 victory in two hours and four minutes. Although the quality didn’t quite rival their cracking quarter-final in Rome last year, it was still a very entertaining match. The first set was pretty enthralling; Suarez Navarro went up a break, lost the break and got the break again… she brought up set points at 5-3 40-0* on Ivanovic’s serve but the Serb swiped them all away with winners. Ivanovic would save another three set points to get back to 5-5. Apart from one loose error from Suarez Navarro, it was all about Ivanovic producing sensational winners. However, all that effort to get the score level went out the window in the next game as Suarez Navarro broke back to love, taking advantage of a fortuitous net cord. At the second opportunity, Suarez Navarro served out the set.
Ivanovic rolled through the second set, looking calmer, swinging away and breaking Carla’s resistance to get the double break and then a little later, the set, 6-1. The momentum swung again back to the Spaniard in the third set as she went up 2-0. She should have made it 3-0, missing a routine forehand with Ivanovic out of position. This began a run of four straight breaks with both players saving their best tennis on return. Suarez Navarro got the crucial hold to lead 5-2 as Ivanovic started to crumble a little with her backhand in particular letting her down. Carla was the more solid and intelligent player in the third set as she dragged Ivanovic out wide and forced her into uncomfortable positions. Ana’s footwork was still not quite there and she was mistiming quite a few shots. At 5-2, Suarez Navarro produced a couple of excellent winners; a running forehand down-the-line (hotshot) and a beautiful wrong footer helped the Spaniard to deuce, but Ivanovic held for the first time in the set.
As Carla stepped up to serve for the match, it felt like there was more fun to come… And there was. Ivanovic played a magnificent game to break to love. You’ll be hard pushed to find a better game as Ivanovic hit a game of winners including two return winners. However, Ivanovic still had to hold just to level the score… At 4-5, Ivanovic’s aggression simmered and she sat back, seemingly struggling with cramps based on the stretching she was doing. She committed two errors at the end although both resulted from some more dogged play from Carla.
Suarez Navarro progresses to a quarter-final with Serena Williams after the world number one saved three match points against Victoria Azarenka in what was an epic scoreboard watch! Serena prevailed, 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(1) in two hours and 43 minutes. I’m going to catch up with the match later but it sounded eventful. When Azarenka served for the match, she finished the game with three consecutive double faults. Although this will be a gutting loss to take, it seems to me she is getting there. I’ll have to watch it for myself, but I wouldn’t be too concerned that Vika lost from that position because I feel she is still (yes still) a little rusty mentally in the tight moments of big matches like this. I didn’t expect her to get a set, let alone have match points so plenty of positives to take away.
The other quarter-final from the top half will see Petra Kvitova take on Irina-Camelia Begu… major yay for Petra! I’m ashamed to say that I thought Petra would lose today but i’m pleased to say she proved me wrong. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography took some gorgeous photos of Petra today (see below). If you haven’t always, I can’t recommend more checking out Women’s Tennis Blog for all the best photos from Madrid this week. Begu’s having some good results this year so it will not be a straightforward match for Kvitova. Still, i’m going for a Serena v Petra semi-final with Serena in straights and Petra in three.
Moo's Tennis Blog 
I just knew that Petra would be able to replicate her deep run from last year; her draw was tricky considering the fact that she is trying to play herself into her best form, on the surface she is the least comfortable on. I really do hope she’ll give Serena a run for her money like she did in Doha a couple of years ago. Its unlikely though, considering that Serena is playing some excellent tennis, and is poised to take the crown for a third time in four years. Gotta love the unpredictability of the WTA.
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I just dont think Kvitova believes she can beat Serena and so she probably never will.
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I agree. Only if she had Vika or sharapovas mental strength to match that game. She would be unbeatable. Lets see what happens.
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I don’t think Azarenka is that mentally tough and I think Sharapova is pig headed and something of a cheat. So I’m happy with Petra as she is.
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Steady with the hate for Maria…
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Petra had an easy draw, so yes she should win. All the good players were in Serena and Maria” sections.
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Most would consider Luksika Kumkhum in the first round of a grand slam to be pretty easy too, but Petra lost to her anyway; with her you just never know.
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And are there really any easy draws anymore? each player in the WTA is so freaking talented! those out of the top 20 are only a few points apart; I mean, Julia Goerges is currently ranked at 68, and she is an extremely talented player who can deliver quite a nasty shock on her day. One can never really judge a player by her ranking, which is what makes the WTA incredibly exciting.
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Well said, Agha.
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Such a tough loss for Vika. It makes me wonder why she missed tournaments for weeks when she should have been getting matches, Charleston etc.
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That’s a good point. I can’t remember if she would have got in Stuttgart main draw with her ranking, but surprised she didn’t play a tournament before Madrid, even Prague or Marrakech.
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She obviously made some kind of decision with her team not to play the smaller events. I think its a good decision, personally, because it’s easier for her to get amped up for big matches with big players. The danger of going back to small events is that if she lost those smaller matches, which happens quite often in these scenarios (Tipsavaric, Zvonereva to name a couple recent ones), then her confidence would take a blow.
She’s done a great job so far this year to get back to where she is. It won’t be long until she’s back in the top twelve again if she keeps plugging away.
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It is all about the draw. Lets see which quarter she lands in. I hope not in Serena or Pova section. Is about time Vika plays Halep or Bouchard.
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I think Azarenka would beat Halep or Bouchard to be honest…
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AGHA; Petra doesn’t have an unbelievable game. She only does well in a few tournaments. You can look up her tournaments history. She isn’t a consistent player. If she had Serena or Maria draw, she would of been out.
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I meant to say unbeatable game because she loses more than she wins. And she loses to qualifiers.
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When Kvitova is ON then she’s unplayable. But she’s never totally on when against Serena because she’s very clearly intimidated by her.
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Jade, I have to respectfully disagree to that. Petra has a very well rounded game and enough firepower to take anyone down, on any court. Her only problem is consistency, and that has nothing to do with her game; it has to do with her mental fortitude and fitness. Just watch the QF from Doha in 2013, Petra was standing toe to toe with Serena; Hell, she even had a 4-1 lead in the third set! its was her mind, and some inspired play from Serena which let her down. I truly find her to be a far more complete player than Azarenka, and would love to see the two of them battle it out on court again! it really has been a while.
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