Ivanovic Retires for Clijsters

Former number one, Ana Ivanovic, suffered a left foot injury and was forced to retire against Belgian Kim Clijsters at 2-1 in the first set. All in all, it was a good week for the Serbian beauty queen who is suffering through her worst season on tour.

Whatever disappointment there was in the afternoon match, was erased by a compelling evening semifinal pairing between two of Russia’s best players. Maria Sharapova, seeded tenth, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova went at it for two hours ad 30 minutes before the 6’2” Sharapova staked her claim opposite Clijsters in the finals 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Sharapova’s confidence keeps broadening in her two-year recovery effort from painful shoulder surgery. The fan favorite former number one looked like a runaway winner with a set in hand and a break in the second set at 3-2. Russia’s newest sensation, Pavlyuchenkova finally made a run at Maria and won 4 consecutive games to keep the match alive. Sharapova’s serve became tentative when the pressure was on in the second set and Anastasia carried the momentum into the third set.

However, Maria is a fighter with a fierce competitive spirit. No sooner had her serve left than she found it again. With a high percentage of first serves landing, the former number one won four straight games, including two love service games too move into the final round.

Pavlyuchenkova displayed the power that has allowed her to upset many of the top ten players, but when Maria pressed forward to attack the serve, Anastasia had no answers. From the baseline, Sharapova scored with powerful, flat groundstrokes that seemed to catch Anastasia off guard.

Those are the strokes Maria will need against Clijsters who holds a 4-3 career advantage against the Russian. When Sharapova has her serve working, she looks more like a top five player than Jankovic (2) Wozniacki (3) and Venus Williams (4). It is just a matter of time before Clijsters moves into the top five. A win in Cincinnati would help both players move up the ladder.

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