Australian Open 2014: Ana Ivanovic breaks Aussie hearts with determined display

Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic reacts after victory in her women’s singles match against Australia’s Samantha Stosur on day five of the 2014 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 17, 2014.

Home is where Samantha Stosur’s heart would definitely not want to be as far as her Grand Slam hopes are concerned. Another year has gone by and with it another chance gone begging as Ana Ivanovic buried her hopes 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

For the last two years her association with her home Slam has not been one to treasure as she has managed to win just one round. Whether its just the jittery nerves or the burden of shouldering the responsibility of the entire nation, we may not know, but Stosur has shown a lot of vulnerability and fragility off late in Australia.

It all seemed to change for the better this year, or at least was moving in the right direction, as she came to Melbourne on the back of a semi-final appearance in Hobart. And she certainly started her much-awaited third round clash in promising fashion.

She was the first to draw blood in the match against Ivanovic who has been having a resurgence of her own by winning the title in Auckland. The former World No. 1, who has confessed to finding the joy of competing again, was the one doing the talking initially not with her forehand, but the unforced error count that was piling up. Stosur, whose first serve percentage remained at 68%, was showing a lot more focus in drawing the error and it was the seventh game where she managed the breakthrough by attacking the Serbian’s weaker backhand.

But it was probably at this crucial juncture that the course of the match was altered. The Aussie set up excellent returns on Ivanovic’s serve, but failed miserably to clinch the first set then and there. By allowing Ana to have her mini-comeback, she not only stretched the match, but perhaps also pierced her burgeoning self-confidence.

In spite of holding two more set points, she allowed the bubbly Serbian to break back and take it to the tie-break. The two who had competed at this revered Melbourne Park for the first time way back in 2006 had their most recent encounter in Sofia last year which went the distance. Naturally, this time also, their contest could not have been expected to be bereft of any drama.

With every scream of ‘Ajde’, Ana soared even higher, and when the moment came she contributed an inevitable double fault. To add to the drama that had already ensued on the court, the sky opened up and rain lashed down out of nowhere, much to to everyone’s astonishment.

It was a 27-minute respite due to which both had to sort out their strategy, and when they returned, Stosur’s seemed to be working flawlessly as she pocketed the first set. Not only that, Stosur also displayed great resilience to save three break points as she succeeded in coming out of a hole. But with Ivanovic stepping into the baseline and returning deep, it was to be just minutes before she struck the deadly blow.

The forehand down-the-line was working like a dream, and it was not long before Ivanovic started looking more pumped up and exuberant, while Stosur’s face reflected her inner tension. The result – Ivanovic broke to take a 3-2 lead – and with her persistent defence and relentless attack, soon surged to clinch the second set 6-4.

With unerring precision, she continued the onslaught with her forehand, extinguishing Stosur’s hopes as much as damaging her willpower. Unable to keep Ana off her forehand flank, the Aussie caved in soon enough to hand over the crucial break in the third set.

Stosur had one last opportunity to make this a much more exciting contest by earning a break point in the sixth game. But it was one of the 32 forehand winners for the Serb that came to the rescue again at Rod Laver Arena. By holding the game she put the final nail in the coffin for Stosur as the Aussie looked more and more dispirited and resorted to some reckless hitting. As with one last serve + forehand combination, Ana ‘Ajde’ed her way into the fourth round, and it was a glum picture of Aussie heartbreak once again that one got to witness.

Home is certainly not a ‘sweet’ place for Samantha Stosur as her dreams lay in tatters yet another year.