Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic admitted she was in need of a new approach after crashing out of the Australian Open on the opening day in Melbourne
Ana Ivanovic returns to Lucie Hradecka yesterday
Melbourne: Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic admitted she was in need of a new approach after crashing out of the Australian Open on the opening day in Melbourne.
Ana Ivanovic returns to Lucie Hradecka yesterday. Pic/AFP
Ivanovic looked to be in charge of her match with Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka on Rod Laver Arena when she took the first set 6-1, but won just five more games in a 6-1, 3-6, 2-6 defeat.
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The former World No 1 reached the quarter-finals here last year and came into the event on the back of reaching the final of the recent WTA Tour event in Brisbane. But the 27-year-old Serbian has now failed to reach a single Grand Slam semi-final in 27 attempts since winning the French Open in 2008.
"I think the whole match I didn't really feel like myself out there," Ivanovic said. "It was really tough for me to find my rhythm. There is always nerves in the beginning.
I felt like I was maybe lacking a little bit of practice this week, I had some issues. But I played okay in the beginning. I just felt second and third set I really dropped my level.
"It's really disappointing. You know, it's probably the worst thing that could happen. But still, the year is young and I really have to now sit and work on a few things and just maybe try to have a different approach to this kind of event and try to see what was lacking."