Ana Ivanovic benefited from her battling qualities as she stubbornly stayed in Sunday's Sony Ericsson Open encounter with Virginie Razzano, eventually triumphing after the French player retired through injury.
Ivanovic battled back from a set down to restore parity in the contest, forcing matters into a decider. It was then that Razzano felt unable to continue, retiring with the score reading 2-6 6-2 3-0 in Ivanovic's favour.
Razzano threw everything at the former world No. 1 in an intriguing first set, breaking on three occasions. It was the second serve that caused Ivanovic problems, winning only one of nine points as Razzano took control.
However, a combination of Razzano losing accuracy on her own serve and Ivanovic growing into the contest meant the Serb was able to take the second set. She had to save five break points en route, but two unanswered breaks forced Razzano into a decider that she clearly did not need.
Now nursing the match-ending problem, Razzano was broken in games one and three of the third set before finally calling time as Ivanovic advanced to round four.
