Dizzying defending champion Ana Ivanovic eliminated from French Open in 4th round

Ivanovic eliminated from French Open in 4th round

PARIS — Defending champion Ana Ivanovic was most certainly not herself Sunday at the French Open. The exact cause remains a bit of a mystery.

Ivanovic was eliminated at Roland Garros in the fourth round, losing to ninth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-3.

“I started really well, and I felt really good in the beginning,” said the eighth-seeded Ivanovic, who won her only Grand Slam title at last year’s French Open. “In the fourth game, I just suddenly started feeling so dizzy, and I completely lost my balance.

“Ever since then it was really hard. I struggled with looking up. I started feeling very dizzy, and I was struggling a little bit to find my balance.”

It soon got even worse for the former No. 1-ranked player. She called for a trainer to look at her neck before the final game of the first set, but it still was unclear what the problem was. Azarenka then held in the next game to win the set, and broke Ivanovic’s serve in the first and third games of the second to take a 4-0 lead.

“It’s never easy to lose, and especially (because) I was feeling my game really well,” Ivanovic said. “So I’m very disappointed with today.”

It didn’t help Ivanovic that she came up against a player that was having a great day, making only seven unforced errors to the Serb’s 20.

“I was very consistent today and very aggressive,” said the 19-year-old Azarenka, who lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros last year. “I didn’t let her play her game, which she normally does. I was just being too aggressive.”

When she came one point away from eliminating last year’s champion — and reaching her first career major quarterfinal — Azarenka managed to stay calm.

“I was playing point-by-point,” Azarenka said. “I didn’t look at it as it was a match point. I just looked at it as it was another point that I had to win.”

Ivanovic also struggled in her opening match, being stretched to a tiebreaker by Sara Errani of Italy. But she easily moved through the next two rounds, losing only five games in those two matches.

“I wasn’t really looking for any outcome or looking too much into the tournament. I just wanted to enjoy,” Ivanovic said. “I was really proud of my efforts the first week. I was really feeling good out there.

“Even today and in the beginning I felt great. I was hitting, striking the ball, and executing really well. That’s why it’s really hard.”

It’s also hard getting old, if you believe the 21-year-old Ivanovic, who is only two years older than Azarenka.

“She’s young, so she has really good potential,” Ivanovic said of Azarenka before being reminded she isn’t exactly over the hill herself. “I feel a little bit older now. With all these young players coming up, I start to feel a little bit old.”