NEW YORK, NY, USA - Zheng Jie had beaten her in their last two meetings, but Ana Ivanovic regained control over that head-to-head at the US Open on Wednesday, routing the Chinese trailblazer in just 56 minutes, 63 60.
Ivanovic, one of six women in the draw with a Grand Slam title to her name (winning the 2008 French Open), had lost to Zheng at Wimbledon and Beijing in 2008, but 22 winners to just 11 errors made that a hard pattern to repeat.
"I lost to her the last few times we played and expected a really tough match, but I was really happy with today's game," Ivanovic said. "The conditions were a little tough out there, it was very gusty, but I just stayed aggressive. Even when the errors crept in, I kept looking for the right ball I knew I had to hit."
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The Open is the only Grand Slam Ivanovic hasn't been to the quarterfinals or better of, but she may get a reprieve in her next match, as Virginie Razzano - a wildcard here - ousted No.13 seed Marion Bartoli later in the day.
"I just have to have my game plan like in previous matches, try to do what I do in practice and what I worked on," Ivanovic commented. "That means stay aggressive and move forward, and I definitely have a chance to keep winning."
Ivanovic seems to be having somewhat of a resurgence up the rankings this year, highlighted by impressive semifinal runs at Premier tournaments in Rome and Cincinnati. "I see myself as two different people. One, you're coming up and have no expectations, you're hungry for success and you don't really know what the stakes are; you just go for it, you have no fear. But once you get in a position to defend some points and there's more pressure, it's a different story.
"Now I feel like I'm just coming up again and I really have nothing to lose. I have that joy of competing again."
