CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Ana Ivanovic advanced to the second round of the Southern California Open on Wednesday, beating defending champion Dominika Cibulkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The seventh-seeded Ivanovic, from Serbia, won nine of the final 11 games. She used a strong ground game to overpower Cibulkova, the Slovak player coming off a victory Sunday in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. Azarenka was playing her first match since withdrawing from her second-round match at Wimbledon because of knee and hip injuries.
