Smashnova smashed in farewell
2007-06-27 16:08
London - Anna Smashnova will want to
forget her last ever tour match after she suffered a 6-0 6-0
whitewash against Martina Mueller in the first round of
Wimbledon on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Israeli, once ranked as high as 15 in the
world, would have hoped for a more memorable outing in her final
tournament after winning 12 titles in a 16-year professional
career.
She never managed to shine at the grand slams with two
fourth round appearances at the French Open her best showings.
She had always struggled to adjust her baseline style to the
grass at Wimbledon and after spraying too many shots outside the
boundaries, she bowed out after just 43 minutes.
It was her seventh successive first-round defeat at the All
England Club.
German 32nd seed Mueller will next face either Poland's
Agnieszka Radwanska or Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.
French Open finalist Ana
Ivanovic overcame Hungarian Melinda Czink 6-0 7-6 in their first
round match.
The Serbian sixth seed with the powerful serve raced through
the first set in 19 minutes.
Left-hander Czink, who had lost both their previous
meetings, rallied at the start of the second set, breaking
Ivanovic when she sent the ball long.
Ivanovic broke back in the fourth game, which was
interrupted for 40 minutes for rain but the 1.86 metres tall
Serb was made to work for her points from then on.
Czink, ranked 133 in the world, forced the set to a
tiebreak, only to give Ivanovic the match when she put a
forehand out.
- Reuters