Melbourne, January 21: Former finalist and world number one Ana Ivanovic flopped out of the Australian Open on Thursday, losing to experienced Argentinian Gisela Dulko in the second round.
The error-riddled performance by a frustrated Ivanovic was a far cry from the glamour girl’s form in 2008, when she lost the Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova and won the French Open.
The 20th seed recovered from 1-4 down to take the first set against the 36th-ranked Dulko, but struggled with her serve and eventually succumbed, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5, 6-4.
The Serb had all sorts of problems on the serve, countless times aborting her service action after an errant ball toss, and faced 28 break points, nine of which Dulko converted.
The disappointing exit for Ivanovic came as she tries to rejuvenate her career after battling indifferent form and injuries last year.
She slipped down the rankings to be outside the top 20 for the first time in five years, finishing the season at 22.
Her best performances were reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and the French Open, making the third round here and bowing out in the first round at the US Open.
While it was another dark day for Ivanovic, it is the first time Dulko has advanced beyond the second round here in seven attempts.
Davydenko ease pass Marchenko
Unheralded Russian Nikolay Davydenko reinforced his status as the form player in men’s tennis by cruising into the third round of theAustralian Open.
The 28-year-old has yet to win a Grand Slam title and has never been in a final, but the sixth seed is looming as one of the genuine contenders here after disposing of Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.
In his two matches in the tournament, he has dropped just 10 games, and he is now enjoying an 11-match winning streak stretching back to last year.
He has also dropped just one set, to Rafael Nadal in the Qatar Open final this month, in seven matches in 2010.
–Agencies