Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was upset 6-2 1-6 6-2 by Austrian Tamira Paszek in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, which opened the door for Jelena Jankovic to reach the No.1 world ranking.
The 17-year-old Paszek, who I thought would continue her last year’s rise this season, won just three matches since the Australian Open and had gone five tournaments without a victory until a first-round win last week in Los Angeles. But now she managed to take out a top-ranked player.
Playing her first match since Wimbledon, Ivanovic was far from a player that won the French Open in May and triumphed on the same Canadian hardcourt two year ago. The 20-year-old Serb was bothered by an inflamed right thumb and the pain made her consider a visit to Europe to see a doctor rather than going directly to the Beijing Olympics. I hope her participation in the Olympics won’t have the same destiny like Maria Sharapova’s.
Ivanovic’s early loss in Montreal gave world No.2 Jelena Jankovic another chance to become the new No.1. Last week in Los Angeles Jankovic had a chance to grab the No.1 spot in the rankings, but Dinara Safina postponed her switch with No.1 Ana Ivanovic. Jankovic is now 88 points behind Ivanovic and can nudge her out of top spot by making it to the Rogers Cup final.
