Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic was stunned by Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2 1-6 6-3 Thursday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
46th-ranked Bondarenko showed no signs of scare while playing against the world number five, she played as if she were a top-ten player. It’s a fact that Ivanovic didn’t play her best tennis, but I think that it’s more Bondarenko’s brilliance, than Ivanovic’s errors that decided the winner. While watching the match, I felt like watching two even players. Ivanovic had a chance, in the third set she had a break point, and she even impressively fought off two match points. However, this wasn’t enough to turn the situation to her advantage and defeat inspired Kateryna Bondarenko.
Bondarenko’s opponent in the quarterfinals is Tatiana Golovin of France. Ivanovic’s next tournament is the Zurich Open, which begins on October 15.
