Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 champion, kept up a brave front after her 6-3, 6-0 second round loss to Russian Alisa Kleybanova, the Serb’s earlier career exit at the French Open.
Ivanovic has dropped from the top ranking two years ago after lifting the Roland Garros title, to her current number 42.
The photogenic 22-year-old Serb has working to turn her game around with new coach Heinz Gunthardt since February. But progress her patchy progress has included a Rome semifinal as well as a first round defeat a week later in Madrid.
“I don’t think I played that bad, actually. For a while I think she didn’t miss a ball at all. She made so many winners, too,” a smiling Ivanovic said of her loss in Paris.
“On many important points she played really, really well, and I didn’t think I did too much wrong out there. I was also a little bit unlucky with so many line calls on my serve and just everything going out.
“It was a combination of a few things, but she played a well match today.” Number 28 Kleybanova reached the Roland Garros third round for the first time after being sidelined earlier this year after Miami due to plantar fasciitis. Since her return in May she lost in the Rome first round and won a match in Madrid.
Ivanovic said the return of her game will be a slow process.
“I think I’m on the right path, doing lots of things right. I have a plan in place, and I have really good team around me. I’m very happy with the improvements that have been made.
“It’s been such a long time until I was actually competing and playing lots of matches, it’s gonna take some time for it to become a pattern and become used to competing again at that high level against top players.”
Before more rain called another late afternoon halt for less than an hour on a day, which began nearly five hours late due to the weather, Chinese 11th seed Li Na advanced over Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France 6-2, 6-2.
Groth ousts Date
Three more women’s matches were completed in before the interruption, with Australian Jarmila Groth ending the miracle run of 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm 6-0, 6-3.
Italian Francesca Schiavone pounded Aussie qualifier Sophie Ferguson 6-2, 6-2 and Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak defeated Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine 6-4, 6-1.
Serb fourth-seed Jelena Jankovic was caught out several times on the way to her victory into the third round against Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Dementieva dumps Garrigues
Fifth-seed Elena Dementieva had to comeback to finish up her victory, defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) to line up a match with Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak, who beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4, 6-1.
“I don’t have much time for recover. And playing in these kind of conditions, it’s gonna be a tough one,” said Dementieva of her next round.
Murray marches on
On the men’s side, number four Andy Murray scrapped through an interrupted match from the night previous, finally defeating Juan Chela 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2.
American sixth-seed Andy Roddick fought through in only his second clay contest of the season without preparation due to a bout of influenza this month, overcoming young Serb Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 — another interrupted match on a day of uncertainty.
“I have confidence just getting through matches right now,” said Roddick. “I’m OK knowing it might be crappy tennis. I just want to be the less crappy one out there. It wasn’t pretty.”
Monfils exits
Italian Fabio Fognini finished up a dramatic win, which was halted the night before at 5-5 in the fifth set in all but total darkness against Frenchman Gael Monfils.
The pair came back out in late afternoon and played on before Fognini scored the 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 9-7.
Tempers had flared earlier as Fognini had agreed to play on as darkness came but then tried to change his mind. The Italian missed the chance for the upset, going wrong on three match points in the late night gloom.
“It was tough, but I lost, that’s it,” said Monfils.
