Ana Ivanovic had followed her spectacular victory over Samantha Stosur with an even more spectacular triumph over Serena Williams, but in the Monday’s quarterfinals she fell to Canadian teen Eugenie Bouchard, who is playing just her fourth Grand Slam tournament, having lost in the second rounds at the French Open and US Open and the third round at Wimbledon, all last year.
The seed No.14 Ivanovic won the first set 7-5, ending a run of five consecutive breaks, while in the second set overwhelmed with service errors, Ivanovic recovered from 3-5 to 5-5 and looked to be able to squeeze into the semis in straight sets, but Bouchard came out on top, taking control after Ivanovic’s medical timeout for her hip. The seed No.30 Bouchard overcame her previous service wobbles and dominated the third set for a 5-7 7-5 6-2 victory in her first trip to the Australian Open.
Earlier, Li Na reached her fourth Australian Open semifinal in five years by cruising past Flavia Pennetta 6-2 6-2 in just seven minutes over an hour and the Chinese will next face the 2013 WTA Newcomer of the Year Bouchard, her third teen opponent in the tournament.
