In a sleek, black dress and mint sneakers, No. 8 seed Ana Ivanovic looked to be channeling Audrey Hepburn’s character from the classic film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” as she began her first-round match Tuesday morning.
The strong Serbian closed out a 6-3, 6-0 win over Alison Riske just in time for lunch. The sun was bright over Arthur Ashe Stadium with just one cloud in the first set, but nothing overshadowed Ivanovic’s experience and confidence coming into this year’s tournament. Despite being broken in the first game by the 24-year-old American, who was frequently urged on by the crowd, the 2008 French Open champion broke back immediately and continuously motivated herself in Serbian, saying “ajde” and “idemo” after winning long rallies. Riske looked to fight back as she broke Ivanovic at love when she was serving for the first set, but it ultimately went the way of the Serb in 37 minutes. There continued to be diverse shot-making in the second set, but it went quickly, with Ivanovic not letting any games go to her opponent in just 27 minutes. A total of 19 winners in the match and her ability to create break-point opportunities ultimately helped Ivanovic move on to the second round. “Every first round is always nervous, but it’s about doing the things you practiced,” a pleased Ivanovic said on court after her win. “This is what we work for, and the crowd here is just the best crowd. I hope you guys enjoyed." WHAT IT MEANS: Ivanovic scored her first Grand Slam win, and 48th match win of 2014, with new coach Dejan Petrovic, whom she began working with after Wimbledon. Currently ranked No. 7 in the WTA’s Road to Singapore leaderboard as she attempts to qualify for the WTA Finals for the first time since 2008, Ivanovic will face Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the second round. With the loss, Riske will not match her US Open performance from last year, in which she advanced to the fourth round, her best Grand Slam result.
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