Top-seed Ivanovic struggles to find rhythm

There are pros and cons to being one of the top eight seeds in the Rogers Cup Canadian Open women's tennis tournament.
 
The schedule for the top seeds isn't as taxing because they receive a bye in the first round. But that can also be a disadvantage because they start cold against an opponent who has had an opportunity to acclimate herself to new surroundings.
 
Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic referred to the situation yesterday after she struggled before beating Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
 
"It wasn't the best match I played," said the player who sits atop the women's rankings. "It was a tough one. She played a match here before (and) for me, it was the first match since Wimbledon. So in the beginning, I obviously struggled with my rhythm a little bit."
 
While Ivanovic said he didn't want to make excuses, she was also bothered by a bruised right thumb.
 
"It's just inflammation that takes time to go away," Ivanovic said. She said the thumb hasn't allowed her to practise as much as she would like, but "you know, I'm still very happy I can play."
 
Ivanovic said she didn't know what to expect from Kvitova, an 18-year-old who is No. 64 in the WTA rankings. She said she had never seen Kvitova play, but she was impressed with the youngster.
 
"She was serving really well today," Ivanovic said. "And also the way she seemed on the court, she didn't seem nervous at all. I had a lot of chances. I was a (service) break up, but I let myself relax a bit."
 
Ivanovic stepped up the pace in the third set and ran up a 5-0 lead, but she had trouble closing out the match. Kvitova staved off four match points before Ivanovic won.
 
The layoff also seemed to bother Maria Sharapova, who was making her first appearance here since 2004. She was having problems with her right shoulder and received treatment midway through the second set. She eventually prevailed over Marta Domachowska of Poland, 7-5, 5-6, 6-2.
 
Montrealer Stéphanie Dubois upset 13th-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (4). She wasn't the only player to pull off an upset yesterday. Michelle Larcher de Brito, the 15-year-old phenom from Portugal, upended 15th-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3.
 
Larcher de Brito, who had to win two qualifying matches to reach the main, is tabbed as a star for the future. She came here ranked No. 169, but her ranking doesn't reflect her talent because her age limits the number of WTA Tour events she can play.
 
Sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia advanced with a 6-2, 7-5 win over american
Jill Craybas while 12th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn of Indonesia, 6-3, 6-2. Victoria Azarenka, the 11th seed from Belarus, had an easy 6-2, 6-2 win over Sylvia Bammer of Austria.
 
But 10th-seeded Marion Bartoli had the easiest day. She advanced when Alisa Kleybanova of Russia withdrew from the tournament because of a bad back. she became the third player to retire with an injury.
 
Ninth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland reeled off five games in a row to complete a
6-1, 7-5 win over centre Romania's Monica Niculescu. Her next opponent will be No. 7 Dinara Safina, who breezed to a 6-2, 6-4 win over fellow Russian Anastasia Rodionova.
 
Two other unseeded players took their places in the final 16.
 
Tamira Paszek, the Austrian teenager whose father was once a pastry chef in Toronto, eliminated qualifier Melinda Czink of Hungary, 6-4, 7-5, while Ai Sugiyama of Japan was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Israeli Shahar Peer.

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