Ana Ivanovic ousted Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-2 in an all-Serbian showdown between former BNP Paribas Open champions and WTA World No. 1s on Tuesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and afterwards called it her best match of the season.
“Definitely. I'm really happy,” she said. “I played some good tennis in past few weeks, as well. But to have it all the way through and play consistent on that level, I'm really pleased.”
Ivanovic earned the only break of the first set in the opening game and broke again to start the second set. Though Jankovic got back on serve at 2-all, Ivanovic won the final four games to oust the defending champion.
“It was a tough match,” said Jankovic, who fell to a 3-7 record against Ivanovic. “Ana played really well. She was really on her game today. I had a lot of opportunities, a lot of break points. Especially that first set, every game on her serve I almost had a lot of break points, and I managed to convert only one, which was in the second.
“I felt like my game was not really there. I wasn't really doing the right things out there, and she was really on her game. She was the better player.”
Ivanovic is through to the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals for a fourth time in six appearances. She won the title in 2008 (d. Kuznetsova) and came just short of the title defense the following year (l. to Zvonareva).
“I enjoy this place a lot. The conditions for tennis are perfect, besides that one year we played the final,” she said with a laugh. “But, no, it's very nice and it's very relaxing. You get lots of practice courts and hotel is close by, so there is not that much outside stress as well. That’s what I enjoy as well.”
