Ivanovic vs. Radwanska: Who will prove to be true title contender”

Written by: Staff on 2nd June 2013

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

Ivanovic vs. Radwanska: Who will prove to be true title contender”

epa03718084 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia reacts during her 1st round match against Petra Martic of Croatia at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 26 May 2013. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

By Matt Cronin

PARIS – As people, the extroverted Ana Ivanovic and the introverted Agnieszka Radwanska have little in common. As players, they do have one goal at Roland Garros: to show the world they are still true Grand Slam contenders.

Ivanovic was that player back in 2008 when she won her sole Grand Slam title in Paris, but as much of the tennis world knows, she went into a deep and prolonged slide after that and although she has occasionally put up some impressive results since then, she has not been a significant force at big tournaments, only managing to pass the fourth round of the majors on one occasion in her past 19 attempts.

She is a much better player than that, but admittedly, she came to fame to early before her game had a chance to truly mature and as smart as she is off court – she is one of the few players to actively read books that aren’t pop novels- she is not an emotionally sure person, which has plagued her on court.

But the 25-year-old Serbian has never given up on her goal to become a top 5 player again and in the past year she has made slow but steady strides up the ranking ladder. She came into Roland Garros as the 14th seed and now will face world No. 4 Radwanska in the fourth round.

Ivanovic has reached the round of 16 or better in her last four Slams and put in a quarterfinal appearance at the 2012 US Open. But just putting up respectable results is no longer good enough for the former No. 1.

“I always felt like I could get to the fourth round or quarterfinal of US Open and then I play a player who’s top 10 or top 5. So nothing is going to be different this time around if Radwanska wins. But I think it’s about time to make this step and actually be the top‑10 player. That’s my big goal and something I really want to focus on this week.”

Radwanska, who has come into the tournament as a bottle blonde (she may go back to being a brunette after the event as her friends don’t like her new and racier look) reached the final of Wimbledon last year and played Serena Williams tough in a three-set loss, which was an important step for the Pole, who has been a permanent fixture in the top 10 since late 2011 but had never passed the quarters of a major until last July.

Stylistically, she is one of the most popular players amongst fans and analysts as she does not win matches with pure power, but instead with light feet, touch, creativity and frequent shifts of strategy. However, she can be overpowered by a few of the elite players (such as the world’s top 3 of Serena, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka) if she is not bringing her A-plus level and while she has improved her mental approach over r the years, she can become distracted and fearful.

The 24-year-old Pole, who has won 12 career titles in including six at a Premier level, is an honest person, but isn’t always a realist says that her confidence is rarely shaken.

“Of course now wherever I go I just always think I can win it,” she said. “I think being top 10, top 5 already for a couple years, I think it means that I can also win the Grand Slam.”

That had not been the recent case for Ivanovic until early April, when she stepped up huge in Fed Cup, scoring two wins away in Germany over the promising Mona Barthel and top-6 player Angelique Kerber. Then she knocked off No. 1 Nadia Petrova in Stuttgart before taking Sharapova to 6-4 in the third set in a semifinal loss in Stuggart. The next week, she won four matches in Madrid to gain the final four again, but Sharapova put her foot on her once more.

Ivanovic wasn’t thrilled with her play in that loss, but it didn’t kill her confidence, which is why she has been able to win her last two matches at Roland Garros routinely after a tough struggle on a freezing cold and windy day against Petra Martic.

Radwanska has been equally as resourceful, as she pulled out of last week’s tournament in Brussels to nurse a chronically sore shoulder, and while many questioned whether she’s be able to make a big push in Paris, she has only lost 14 games in three matches. She may have a slight build compared to some players, but she’s a lot tougher than she looks.

“I am used to playing in pain,” she said.

While Radwanska was extremely impressive last year in London, she did not follow up that form at either the 2012 US Open or 2013 Australian Open, when she failed to reach the semis.

She has a more than punchers chance to get to that stage again next week, as she will be favored against Ivanovic on Sunday and should she pass that hurdle, might face last year’s finalist Sara Errani in the quarters, not an impossible task.

Radwanska owns a 6-3 career record against Ivanovic, winning their last six contests, including in the fourth round of the Aussie Open. But they have split their two meetings on clay and Ivanovic seems very determined to turn the tables on her again.

Should one of them still be around for the semifinals next Friday, that player will be seen as a true contender again.

“ I definitely know what to expect,” Ivanovic said. “It’s going to be a matter of who makes less errors.

She’s not afraid to come in. She likes to use drop shots and she moves really well. She makes you win the points over and over again. That’s something hard to keep at and keep consistent. But I’m patient [too]. I think it’s going to be a big key.”

Topics: Grand Slam, Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova, Radwanska, Roland Garros, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, US Open, Victoria Azarenka, Wimbledon

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TennisReporters says:

June 1, 2013 at 2:53 pm

Ana vs Aga: who’s the real RG contender? (& yes I realize pic is off) http://t.co/2lGYUvdb87
ProPelicanTweet says:

June 1, 2013 at 2:55 pm

RT @TennisReporters: Ana vs Aga: who’s the real RG contender? (& yes I realize pic is off) http://t.co/2lGYUvdb87
Curtos07 says:

June 1, 2013 at 2:59 pm

RT @TennisReporters: Ana vs Aga: who’s the real RG contender? (& yes I realize pic is off) http://t.co/2lGYUvdb87
AureliaMounier says:

June 1, 2013 at 3:16 pm

RT @TennisReporters: Ana vs Aga: who’s the real RG contender? (& yes I realize pic is off) http://t.co/2lGYUvdb87