A Twirl, A Fistpump, and A Victory--Ana Ivanovic Stuns Azarenka in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI--For the first time in a long time, Ana Ivanovic had reason to smile.

Against the ninth-seeded Victoria Azarenka, recent champion at Stanford, wild card Ana Ivanovic fought back from the brink of defeat, showing flashes of her old brilliance on the way to a 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-2 upset in the first round.

Azarenka served for match twice in the second set, at both 5-3 and 6-5.  But Ivanovic broke both times, thanks largely to some untimely double faults by the blonde Belarussian.  Ivanovic then survived a roller coaster tiebreak (each player twice won three straight points) to even the match at a set apiece, showing more and more of the positive emotion she's known for as the match turned in her favor.

"I just honestly gave away all the chances I had," Azarenka admitted. "Today was a little bit of a disaster."

Ivanovic's momentum never stopped in the third set, going up an early break in the first game and hanging on for a convincing 6-2 set.

"This victory means a lot," Ivanovic said after the match. "Not only as it's against a really good player, but also the way the match was progressing." 

"The last few weeks I was losing matches like this."

Though Azarenka helped the cause with some untimely errors, this was a win that Ivanovic thoroughly earned.  She returned the Azarenka serve beautifully, stepping well inside the court on the second serve return to crack numerous return winners.  Ivanovic won 80% of second serve return points in the second set, and 90% in the third set.

Ivanovic's forehand was also key in breaking open points.  She smacked forehand winners cross court to end several rallies, finding incredible depth and angles with a consistency she hasn't shown in months.

"I think my footwork was a lot better so I was in a better position to hit it," said Ivanovic.  "The forehand is always my stronger side, so it felt good that it was working."

Aside from her forehand and return, the Cincinnati crowd was also key in Ivanovic's victory. 

"The crowd helped me so much," Ivanovic said.  "They were a lot behind me.  It was so great to see a lot of young kids and so on, and it kind of got me pumped."

"With the fans, the night session, sometimes it changes the mindset and the way you play, Azarenka said, agreeing that the crowd had helped Ivanovic on the night.

The question now is whether or not Ivanovic will be able to build on this victory.  She faces another tough opponent, Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova, in the next round.

Ivanovic won the US Open Series in 2006, on the back of a title in Montreal, primarily.  But the US Open has been her weakest slam throughout her career, never having reached the quarterfinal round (she has made the semifinal or better at the three other grand slams).

Whether this win is a career changer or an anomaly is yet to be seen, but at the very least Ana Ivanovic reestablished herself as a dangerous opponent whom no top player should relish facing.