Finally! I think we can say that today Ana Ivanovic made a career milestone! The 2008 French Open champion eliminated Maria Sharapova from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in the third round and here’s why the win is so huge:
- It was a decisive 6-1 6-4 score;
- Sharapova had won her 12 previous matches on the surface;
- Sharapova had boasted a 46-3 win-loss record on clay since the 2011 French Open, with all the three losses all coming from Serena Williams;
- Sharapova’s record in Rome included 16 straight wins;
- Sharapova’s overall record in Rome was 21-2;
- Ivanovic hadn’t defeated Sharapova in their seven previous meetings, i.e. in almost seven years;
- Sharapova is Ivanovic’s fellow French Open champion.
The list can go on but the key is that we hadn’t expected Ivanovic to win, at least not as decisively, since Sharapova is the hottest claycourt player right now, besides the mighty Serena Williams. Moreover, they have recently faced each other in the final of Stuttgart and Sharapova triumphed 3-6 6-4 6-1.
Sharapova will now take a week off before the French Open, while Ivanovic is awaiting Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarterfinals, another big claycourt opponent. We done Ana! (photo: Jimmie48)
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