Thursday at the Rogers Cup Ana Ivanovic was unceremoniously defeated by Tamira Pascek 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
Pascek, under the tutelage of Gustavo Kuerten’s former coach Larry Pasos has worked his magic yet again with talented youngster. Remember Pascek I will come back to her later.
The match was just as odd as the scoreline. Neither player played their best at the same time. It was what we in tennis call a "scrappy" match.
The world No. 1 Ivanovic hasn't played very well since she claimed the world's top spot. I’ve noticed a change in Ivanovic.
When she was climbing the rankings, she played with what I liked to call "a soft fire." On the court, she smiled, she saw the ball, she hit the ball. She had a quiet focus.
Now with the top ranking, everything around her is anything but quiet. Her time is precious, yet demanded. This delightfully quiet, timid, smiling youngster can't handle it yet.
To me, the best thing for Ivanovic is to relinquish her perch atop the tennis world (which fellow countrywomen Jelena Jankovic can cease this week), relax, go to the Olympics, and play for Serbia, and get back to the Ivanovic we know and love to watch.
With Ivanovic eliminated and Sharapova withdrawn, the tournament is wide open and so is the US Open.
Tamira Pascek strikes the ball beautifully and her movement is solid.
I mentioned earlier in the week that Ivanovic announced herself to the world in Montreal 2006. Tamira Pascek has a chance, a great chance to do the very same here this week. But by ousting the world’s No. 1, one might say she already has.
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