Ana Ivanovic Survives Second Round Scare At 2012 China Open; Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova Advance In First Round

Ana Ivanovic (click to enlarge)

I’ve been waiting for Varvara Lepchenko to make a big move on tour. I think she is very talented and could be a top player one day. She almost made a big move by bouncing Ana Ivanovic out of the 2012 China Open in the second round. In the end, former #1 Ivanovic pulled her game together in time to escape with a 4-6 7-5 6-1 victory. Give Ana credit. She was down 3-5 and 15-40 double match point in the second set before winning 10 of the next 11 games to dismiss Lepchenko.

Maria Sharapova (click to enlarge)

Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova both advanced in straight sets, but it was no walk in the park for Masha. It took the career Grand Slam winner nearly 2 hours to fight off Simona Halep, 7-5 7-5. On the other hand, Vika dropped serve to Alize Cornet in the first game of their match…and then didn’t lose another game in taking out Alize, 6-1 6-0. Azarenka is starting to look like she did early in the year. She had her chance to beat Serena at the US Open. Vika fell short, but maybe she knows now how close she is to being not just #1, but the player seen as the best in the world, which right now is Serena.