DUBAI: Ana Ivanovic beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 7-6 in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday.
She was still too strong for 21-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, breaking in the first game and remaining largely in control thereafter, her Russian opponent's forehand too often found wanting to really put her higher-ranked adversary in trouble.
Ivanovic's career has dipped since she won the French Open in 2008, sinking from number one in the world rankings to 13, and she was far from flawless on the floodlit Dubai court.
The Serb slipped from 4-0 up in the second set to 6-6 before winning the subsequent tiebreak 7-5.
She was still too strong for 21-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, breaking in the first game and remaining largely in control thereafter, her Russian opponent's forehand too often found wanting to really put her higher-ranked adversary in trouble.
Ivanovic broke for a second time to go 4-1 up in the first set, a fierce cross-court return earning a break point she converted after Pavlyuchenkova thumped a forehand into the net.
Yet Ivanovic immediately lost her own serve to love as the world number 29 closed to 4-3 but the 25-year-old roused herself again, dropping only two points in the next two games as Pavlyuchenkova double-faulted to gift her the first set.
The Serb will now play Czech Petra Kvitova or Daniela Hantuchova in the second round.
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