Ana Ivanovic got a beautiful birthday present, a hard-fought 6-1 4-6 7-5 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid.
The Serbian world number four broke the Russian world number two three times to confidently take the opening set.
The second set was a different story. Just when it seemed like Ivanovic will make quick work of Kuznetsova, since the Russian was three games down, everything started to change. Kuznetsova takes the fourth game of the second set and four more games for a 5-3 lead! The Russian made a tremendous comeback, and took the match to a more than exciting third set.
Ivanovic again started with a solid 3-0 lead, but Kuznetsova evened to 3-3. As the match progressed, it became more and more thrilling. The most exciting game for me was the 11th game of the decider. The end of the match was close, the result was 5-5, and Ivanovic saved two break points, after six deuces! This game decided the winner, since Ivanovic, having mental strength on her side, finished the match by breaking Kuznetsova very quickly.
