Serbian fourth seed Ana Ivanovic staged a barnstorming comeback to down Slovak ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday and set up an Australian Open final against Maria Sharapova.
Ivanovic looked like wilting in humid conditions with the roof of the Rod Laver Arena closed due to rain, taking 46 minutes to win her first game and reviving memories of her choke in last year’s French Open final.
But the 20-year-old recovered after allowing Hantuchova to rattle off eight games in succession, cheered on by an ecstatic Melbourne Park crowd.
”It’s not so fun,” the relieved Serb said after the two hour, 10 minute epic.
”She’s a tough player and I knew I had to go for my shots early in the rally and it was frustrating because I couldn’t make any, she was playing really well.
”I tried to stay calm as much as I could but obviously it wasn’t easy,” she added, telling the crowd, ”If it wasn’t for you guys I would be already booking my flight back home.”
Ivanovic (20) began nervously, double-faulting to go down a break in the opening game and failing to score a point in the second.
The Serb’s powerful forehand finally began to fire in the third game, but could not prevent Hantuchova stealing another break.
The 24-year-old Slovak, who enjoyed an armchair ride to the semis while Ivanovic battled through a bruising clash with Venus Williams, looked fresher than her opponent.
The Serb’s serve was also misfiring, depriving her of one of her most powerful weapons, and her groundstrokes failed to find their mark.
Hantuchova, out to reassert her Grand Slam credentials after failing to reach the quarterfinals at a Major for five years, pounced on every mistake and snatched another break to go up 5-0.
She held Ivanovic to love in the sixth game, taking the set 6-0 after just 25 minutes.
The opening game of the second stretched for eight minutes as the Serb desperately tried to claw her way back into the match.
Ivanovic thought she had fended off Hantuchova at break point but the Slovak successfully challenged when her return was called out, leaving Ivanovic remonstrating with the umpire after conceding her fourth consecutive break.
She finally held serve in the third game and went on to score a crucial break back, for the first time unleashing some of the aggression that helped her down Williams.
The Serb’s recent fitness work, which included playing in sauna-like conditions at a British training centre to prepare for Melbourne’s heat, began to pay off as her movement improved late in the second set.
She claimed another break in the eighth game, then went on to take the match to a third set.
It turned into a 59 minute arm-wrestle, Ivanovic holding off break point with an ace in the sixth game and then seizing the decisive advantage when she broke Ivanovic to make it 5-4.
The Serb served out the match, slumping to the floor after Hantuchova netted a return to give her victory. — AFP
