In what was some of the most exciting tennis witnessed so far, top seed Ana Ivanovic, fought to remain in the hunt for her first Brisbane International title last night.
Defeating Roberta Vinci from Italy 6-7(4) 7-5 6-1, Ivanovic came back from a set down to win in convincing style.
After the match Ivanovic said, “I feel much fitter than I did last year and mentally tougher. I was probably not as aggressive as I should have been but I tried.”
Ivanovic now meets Amelie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals today.
Jo- Wilfried Tsonga also survived a scare when he came back from a set down to defeat Jarkko Nieminen in their second-round slugfest.
The seventh seed in the world clawed his way back into the match after a 6-0 loss in the first, 0-6 7-6(1) 7-6(5).
“During the match I stayed really focused all the time on my objective and I did it. I feel I am getting better and better,” Tsonga said.
The heavy hitting game lasted for just over two hours with Tsonga to now meet compatriot Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals.
In the ultimate French showdown, Mauresmo showed her experience and class today defeating countrywoman Julie Coin.
After losing the first set 7-5, Mauresmo fought back in the second, winning 6-2, before the French women tusseled it out in the third.
Mauresmo took the third set 7-6(11) in an 89-minute marathon, with the match lasting for more than three hours.
The former Australian Open champion had mixed feelings after the match.
"I really don’t know what to say about this match. It would have been a missed opportunity if I had of lost. There were a lot of ups and downs but I am happy. I took some chances but overall too many errors – it was a strange match.”
In other results, Japanese sensation Kei Nishikori defeated Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic, 7-6(7) 6-3 while Fernando Verdasco made easy work of Mario Ancic in straight sets, 6-2 6-3.
In another surprise, top doubles pair Cara Black and Liezel Huber were defeated by Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama, 7-5 3-6 [10-3].
