Defending champion Ana Ivanovic came through a tough first set to beat Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 7-6, 6-2 and reach the third round of the German Open on Wednesday.
Ivanovic, seeded second behind Justine Henin, took time to adjust to the heavy clay court at Steffi Graf Stadium and was grateful to come through the opening set with a 7-0 victory in the tiebreak.
That emphatic scoreline seemed to encourage her, and the Serb looked a lot more fluent as she completed victory in 90 minutes.
Fourth seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic also had a few problems early on before her class told in a 7-5, 6-0 win over Peng Shuai of China.
© 2024 Rediff.com -