Ivanovic Runner-Up at Cincy

August 17th, 2014 saw the final day of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati Ohio, with EZONE player Ana Ivanovic (EZONE Ai 98) making it to the final after a dramatic semifinal match against Maria Sharapova. These two former world No. 1 players took to the hard courts of the Lindner Family Tennis Center for a fierce match that had Ana leading by 6-2 4-0 half-way through the game. While her opponent managed to level the match, Ana refused to lose, coming back aggressively in the third set. After knocking away two match points, Ana took the match with a brilliant back-hand winner. Making use of the EZONE Ai’s fast swings and accurate shots, one of Ana’s main weapons during this match was making shots that her opponent simply couldn’t reach. Furthermore, Ana managed to convert eight of 15 break points, while her opponent only created ten break chances. In the end, the match came to 6-2 5-7 7-5.



While Ana came out as the runner-up in this tournament after the final with Serena Williams, she now has excellent momentum heading into the US Open at the end of the month. Her fine performance also put her back into the top ten.

Other YONEX players also boasted great results in Cincinnati this past week, with Kimiko Date-Krumm (S-FIT, POLYTOUR SPIN) and her partner Andrea Hlavackova making it to the women’s doubles semifinal, and Stan Wawrinka (VCORE Tour G, SHT-PRO) reaching the men’s singles quarterfinals. These results should also prove to be a great boost for these players as the US Open approaches.

Tournament Results [Western & Southern Open]

Women’s Singles [Final]

Serena Williams (USA) def. Ana Ivanovic (EZONE Ai 98)(SRB) 6-4 6-1

Women’s Doubles [Semifinal]

Timea Babos (HUN)/Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) def. Kimiko Date-Krumm (S-FIT, POLYTOUR SPIN)(JPN)/Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) 6-4 1-6 10-7

Men’s Singles [Quarterfinal]

Julien Benneteau (FRA) def. Stan Wawrinka (VCORE Tour G, SHT-PRO)(SUI) 3-6 6-0 6-1

*Photo of Ana taken at Wimbledon 2014