The No. 12 seed from Serbia, Ana Ivanovic bested Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4, in early action Monday at the 2012 U.S. Open. Ivanovic struggled in Round 4 against Sloane Stephens, dropping the first set in a tiebreak, but she got off to a hot start against Pironkova
On the stat sheet, the match was remarkably close. Ivanovic had just two aces, made a total of 21 unforced errors and only managed to win 61 percent of her first serve points (with 48 percent of her first serves in). Pironkova had an ace, just two more unforced errors at 23, and a higher percentage of first serves in with 57 percent. Still, she only managed to win 35 percent of her first serves.
Pironkova's second serve was exceptionally weak, as she won just 12 percent of those points, which was one of the deciding factors that led to her being broken early and often.
Ivanovic will now advance to the quarterfinals, where she'll take on the winner of Monday's matchup between Andrea Hlavackova and Serena Williams. It's no secret who Ivanovic is rooting for in that one, as Williams is the tournament's No. 4 seed.
For ongoing match updates and top notch analysis of the 2012 U.S. Open, make sure that you check out SB Nation's dedicated tennis hub.
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