Ana Ivanovic wore a white, long-sleeve top over her adidas tennis dress as protection from a biting Dubai breeze, while Francesca Schiavone, showing no concession to the 55-degree desert chill, was dressed for a day at the beach in a sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of shorts. In a battle of former French Open champions, Ivanovic delivered a dress down for one set, then stitched together timely shotmaking to deconstruct the layers of the Italian's game in posting a 6-1, 7-5 victory.
An aggressive Ivanovic opened the court cracking deep blasts that danced near the baseline before driving shots down the line in forcing Schiavone into a state of almost perpetual pursuit. The former world No. 1 built a 5-0 lead after just 19 minutes of play in a performance that would have left many opponents woozy. Schiavone absorbed the shellacking with defiance, exhorting herself as she paced around in circles behind the baseline between points. The stubborn Schiavone dug in and fought off seven set points in a near 11-minute sixth game to finally get on the scoreboard. She would save one more in the next game, but it was a temporary reprieve, as Ivanovic converted her ninth set point to take a one-set lead after 33 minutes.
The animated Italian owns all-court skills and can play heavy topspin that handcuffs opponents. The 6'1" Serb poses problems for Schiavone because she handles the high ball so well, often taking it on the rise, and responds with flatter, deeper drives that reduced the 2010 Roland Garros champion into a series of sideline-to-sideline splits. Ivanovic cracked nine winners to just one for Schiavone in the opening set.
The 31-year-0ld from Milan is a rare player who actually seems strengthened by struggle (see her epic 2011 Australian Open win over Svetlana Kuznetsova). She had two break points for a 2-0 second-set lead, but could not convert. Both women turned up the intensity in a 16-and-half minute fifth game that featured nine deuces, as Schiavone saved four break points only to drop serve netting a backhand off her back foot. But shrugging that marathon setback off as if it were a shawl, Schiavone immediately broke back for 3-3.
Ivanovic cast a concerned glance over at coach Nigel Sears when she was tested early in the eighth game, but held for 4-all. Under Sears' guidance, Ivanovic has (for the most part) controlled her stray service toss and tried to impose two of her strengths—her ability to hit down the line and close points at net—and was successful in winning nine of her first 10 trips there. Typically a savvy match player, Schiavone served almost exclusively to Ivanovic's weaker backhand on the ad side, which predictability cost her, as Ivanovic often moved to her left while Schiavone's toss was in the air to cut off the wide serve. Ivanovic failed to serve it out at 5-4, but Schiavone brain-cramped in netting a horrid drop shot to surrender serve again. Ivanovic closed the one hour, 41-minute match in the next game.
—Richard Pagliaro