Powerful Petrova pushed

14 June 2009 || By Monticelli

nadia petrovaSeeded Nadia Petrova justified her superior ranking over out of form Ana Ivanovic by reeling off five games to claim victory in a three-set Centre Court thriller 6-1,4-6, 6-4.

Grass court expert Petrova ran away with the opening set but was surprisingly pegged back in the second set by the Serbian starlet. 

And the Polish-based no7 seed was forced to step up a gear in the final set when was staring at defeat.

Petrova, a semi-finalist at Eastbourne 2007 and runner-up at Eastbourne 2008, was expected to trounce her troubled 21-year-old opponent.

And the powerful Russian who celebrated turning 27 last week by maintaining her world ranking of no10, thumped Ivanovic 6-1 in the opening set.

But the Serbian battled point for point in a poor and edgy match to nick the second set 6-4 and level matters.

The standard in the decisive set deteriorated with both players afraid to make unforced errors in blustery conditions, and the similarity in their tactics resulted in a cat and mouse finale with powerful winners and a sprinkling of neat touch shots. Although the line calls seemed dubious and both players queried these throughout a bitty match.

ana ivanovicAnd had there been a translator then surely the words from each would have been bluer than their dresses! Petrova was easy to spot as she pushed her bulky build all over the court and wore a smart navy dress. Whereas Ivanovic's light blue attire meant that she disappeared into the bright blue hoardings of the sponsors and seemingly appeared from nowhere at times.

Ivanovic surprisingly coasted into a seemingly comfortable 4-1 lead in the final set after twice breaking Petrova's weak service game. 

Suddenly Ivanovic, supported by fellow WTA Tour player Jelena Dokic, wilted in the heat and was given a lesson in finishing by Petrova as the Russian roared back with five straight games to claim an incredible victory.