Melbourne, Jan 19 (IANS) Serbian tennis star and former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic began with a straight sets win, powering past Australian wild card Tammi Patterson 6-2, 6-3 in an Australian Open first round match here on Tuesday.
The 2008 Australian Open finalist needed just over an hour to march into the next round.
The 22nd ranked Serb lost in the first rounds at AUstralian Open’s warm-up tournaments in Auckland and Sydney but said she wan’t under any pressure going into the match.
“No, not pressure – it just means a lot to me, to be through,” Ivanovic said after the win.
“Every match is a new challenge. It wasn’t really the beginning I had in mind in this Aussie tour, but I’m really happy to have the victory here and hopefully I can improve in my next match.”
The serve proved to be the key shot for Ivanovic and as the match progressed she gained more confidence, firing off three aces and drawing out 29 unforced errors from the Australian.
In the end Ivanovic outgunned her opponent, ending the match without facing a break point.
“Obviously it’s always tough to play someone you don’t really know,” Ivanovic said.
“Tammi played really well, I thought. She has a good future in front of her and I wish her well.”
Ivanovic is set to face Anastasija Sevastova in the second round, who won her match after Australian Jarmila Wolfe retired in the second set at 6-0, 4-2.
