BEIJING, Sept 27: Former world number one Ana Ivanovic crashed out of the China Open on Friday, beaten by home favourite Zheng Jie in a marathon quarter-final clash.
Second seed Andy Roddick battled back from a set down to beat former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero and women’s top seed Jelena Jankovic also made it through to the semi-finals.
Ivanovic, seeded two here, lost 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4 to her Wimbledon conqueror in a match lasting almost three hours.
The French Open champion had fought her way back into the match, taking the second set despite an error-strewn display but lost the decider to a tenacious Zheng, ranked 30 in the world.
“She was playing really well. My first serve wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped for. I think that was the biggest difference,” Ivanovic said, adding she had not been aggressive enough with her returns.
Zheng, 25, also shocked Ivanovic at Wimbledon, beating the then top seed in the third round before going on to reach the semi-finals.
World number four Ivanovic has had a poor recent run, including her early exit in London and a second round defeat at the US Open. She has also been hit by injuries.
Zheng’s win means she has matched the best-ever performance by a Chinese player at this tournament. She goes on to meet Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-final.
She said she had been lifted by the home crowd during her match, “especially when the situation was bad.”“It’s not far to win the tournament. I hope that I can win but I’m going to focus on the next match because all the other three players are great players,” she added.
In the men’s draw on quarter-finals day in Beijing, Roddick beat Ferrero 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The big-serving American hit four double faults in the first set and smashed his racket but recovered strongly, firing a total of 23 aces.
“I hit my forehand a lot better in the last two sets and that’s encouraging,” said Roddick, who added he took out his frustration on his racket because “I was pretty upset with the way I was playing.”
Meanwhile, defending champion Fernando Gonzalez, the third seed, lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Germany’s Bjorn Phau, ranked 137 in the world.
Sixth seed Tommy Robredo was beaten convincingly 6-4, 6-1 by Israel’s world number 92 Dudi Sela, who put out top seed David Ferrer in the previous round.
Sela, who will play Germany’s Rainer Schuettler in his first ATP tour semi-final, said he came to Beijing full of confidence after his team’s Davis Cup win over Peru at the weekend.
Schuettler beat French fourth seed Richard Gasquet 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In the women’s competition, Jankovic beat Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-1, Russia’s Vera Zvonareva beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in just 51 minutes and Kuznetsova beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-4.
Results (prefix number denotes seeding):
Men’s:
Quarter-finals: 2-Andy Roddick (US) bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; Bjoern Phau (Germany) bt 3-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; 7-Rainer Schuettler (Germany) bt 4-Richard Gasquet (France) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Dudi Sela (Israel) bt 6-Tommy Robredo (Spain) 6-4, 6-1.
Women’s:
Quarter-finals: 1-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) bt 7-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 7-5, 6-1; Zheng Jie (China) bt 2-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4; 4-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) bt Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) 6-2, 6-4; 5-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) bt Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 6-0, 6-1.
DJOKOVIC IN LAST FOUR
BANGKOK: Top seed Novak Djokovic battled to a 6-4, 7-5 win over a defiant Robin Soderling to reach the semi-finals of the $576,000 Thailand Open on Friday.
In a battle of big serves and powerful groundstrokes, the Serbian world number three combined a solid backhand with delicate drop shots and inch-perfect lobs to get the better of the hard-hitting Swede.
“He’s got a very powerful serve, I was aware of that and I was ready for him,” Djokovic told reporters. “I could have closed out the match several times but he came back. He’s a very powerful player. The semi-final will be really tough.”
Djokovic’s opponent will be third-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych after his gritty 7-6, 6-3 win over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, the pair firing 21 aces between them.
Playing in only his second tournament since a long injury layoff, second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga eased into the semis with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Austrian Juergen Melzer.
The Frenchman put on a confident display, blasting 13 aces to reach the final four for the third time this year.
Tsonga takes on compatriot Gael Monfils, a 7-6, 6-4 winner over German Philipp Petzschner, for a place in the Bangkok final.
The fourth-seeded Frenchman had the edge in a tight match, switching his tactics to win a close tiebreak in the first set against an opponent playing in his first tour quarter-final.
Petzschner, who toppled Russian Marat Safin in the first round, pressurised his opponent’s backhand to try to force errors but Monfils broke serve at 4-4 in the second and held on to secure a place in his fourth semi-final of the year.
“It’s good to be in the semi-finals, it’s great for my confidence,” he stated. “I’m working on my stability and now I’m very confident. I feel great.”
Results:
Quarter-finals: 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) bt 6-Robin Soderling (Sweden) 6-4, 7-5; 3-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Nicolas Mahut (France) 7-6(6), 6-3; 2-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) bt 8-Juergen Melzer (Austria) 6-3, 6-2; 4-Gael Monfils (France) bt Philipp Petzschner (Germany) 7-6(6), 6-4.—Agencies
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