Ivanovic Loss Eases Path for Serena

By Michelle Kaufman, The Miami Herald

Jun. 28–WIMBLEDON, England — The first raindrops of the week fell on Wimbledon on Friday, but former champion Serena Williams was beaming like a ray of sunshine. For one thing, her white raincoat finally proved useful. Secondly, she beat Amelie Mauresmo with relative ease in a third-round battle of former champions.

And then, Williams’ half of the draw was flung wide open when top seed Ana Ivanovic was eliminated by 133rd-ranked wild card Zheng Jie of China.

Ivanovic had just taken over the tennis throne after her French Open victory, and this congenial Serb entered Wimbledon with much fanfare. The British tabloids love leggy, tennis beauties, and Ivanovic had been the focus of photographers’ lenses from the moment she stepped on the grounds.

But her troubles began in the second round, when a lucky net cord saved her from losing to Nathalie Dechy. Then, on Friday, Zheng, a 5-4 doubles specialist, dominated from the start and kept Ivanovic, who is 6-1, off-balance with her powerful low shots for a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

“I learned everyone is going to be so pumped against you and they’re going to try to perform the best they can,” Ivanovic said, explaining what she has learned since taking over the No. 1 ranking after Justine Henin’s retirement. “They have nothing to lose. It’s something you have to accept, and with time, learn to deal with.”

MATTEK IS NEXT

Ivanovic’s early exit means the highest-seeded players left blocking Williams’ path to the final are No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 8 Nicole Vaidisova and No. 14 Agnieszka Radwanska.

But first, she must get past Bethanie Mattek, a 23-year-old fellow American who might not have Williams’ power or pedigree, but certainly matches her boldness when it comes to fashion.

Most of the coverage 69th-ranked Mattek received before this week was for her eccentric outfits. She has shown up on the U.S. Open courts in low-cut leopard-print getups, been fined for trying to play in a cowboy hat, and two years ago at Wimbledon wore soccer knee socks in honor of the World Cup.

“Granted, the outfits were — [pause] — unusual, but I really appreciated her courage,” Williams said. “Her personality is so good, and the courage you have to wear something like that goes a long way with me.”

Mattek said it has been fun shocking people with her attire, but this week she opted for a more understated look. She won 20 of 24 matches coming into Wimbledon, and wanted the focus to be on her tennis.

It turns out her shots can be as varied as the outfits in her closet, as she showed in a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Marion Bartoli, a Wimbledon finalist last year. Mattek had never gotten past the second round at a Grand Slam tournament, so her improbable run here is “a pretty cool” result, she said.

“It’s not that I didn’t take my career serious,” Mattek said. “I’m still outgoing, like to show my personality. But I really wanted to have my tennis come through. That’s why I’ve kind of toned down some of my outfits for this tournament. Now I get players coming up to me and they’re all disappointed in me — but I still have some stuff in my suitcase that I can pull out.”

Mattek, whose parents live in Boca Raton, trains part-time at the Evert Academy and spends the rest of her time in Phoenix. Last year, after the U.S. Open, she took three months off and worked with Arizona fitness guru Jay Schroeder, who also trains NFL players.

She said it made a big difference.

“I got in a lot better shape,” she said. “Right now, I’ve played I don’t know how many matches in a row. If I would have done this last year, I would have been in a stretcher going off the court.”

She hopes she won’t feel like riding a stretcher after her fourth-round match against Williams. “I’ll have to be on my A game for sure,” she said.

FEDERER COASTS

On the men’s side Friday, top seed Roger Federer cruised past Marc Gicquel 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. His next opponent is Lleyton Hewitt, the last man to win Wimbledon before Federer began his five-year reign. Federer has won their past 11 meetings and has won 62 consecutive matches on grass.

“You always want to play against the best, and he has owned Wimbledon for five years,” Hewitt said. “Against Roger, you really have to take advantage of those half-chances, because you’re not going to get a lot of them.”

Former No. 1 Marat Safin, who has slipped to No. 75, continued his improbable run with a victory over 29th-ranked Andreas Seppi. Mario Ancic, the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon, upset No. 5 David Ferrer. And Bobby Reynolds, who was the final American man in the tournament, lost to Feliciano Lopez.

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