Sport - Tennis

Ivanovic struggles past Dushevina the results

— PHOTO: AP

MADE TO STRETCH: Top seed Ana Ivanovic had to dig deep in her first round tie against Vera Dushevina.

NEW YORK: Ana Ivanovic recovered in time to beat Vera Dushevina 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the U.S. Open here on Tuesday.

Ivanovic, out of rhythm lately because of an injured right thumb, looked out of sorts for most part of the match against the Russian who is ranked No. 57. Down 3-2 in the third set, the French Open champion suddenly found her confidence — and her winning strokes.

The 20-year-old Serbian had played only two matches since Wimbledon while her thumb healed. The injury also forced Ivanovic to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics.

“It felt great today,” she said. “I was so happy to be on the court.”

The worst start ever for a No. 1 woman at the U.S. Open came in 1967 when Maria Bueno drew a first-round bye and then lost in the second round. Ivanovic was in danger, too.

Ahead 4-2 in the second set, Ivanovic rushed to a 40-15 lead and seemed well on way to a comfortable win. At deuce, she charged forward but put an easy smash into the net — one of her 40 unforced errors.

After that, Ivanovic’s problems mounted. And gone was her signature fist pump after winning key points. Instead, she spent more and more time looking into her family box during breaks.

By the final set, Ivanovic was moving better, covering the court and putting pressure on Dushevina. And the Serbian made it tough for herself by double-faulting on match point. However, she managed to get through.

The sixth-seeded Dinara Safina, No. 13 Agnes Szavay and No. 16 Flavia Pennetta all progressed to the second round.

In the men’s category, Tomas Berdych, the 22nd seed, lost to Sam Querrey of the United States 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

It was well past midnight when James Blake finished off the opening day at the Open. The No. 9 seed outlasted 19-year-old fellow American Donald Young 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Blake looked poised to make quick work of Young, a first-round loser at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, leading two sets to one and up 2-0 in the fourth before the slender left-hander caught fire.

Young battled Blake fiercely to level the set 2-2 in a marathon fourth game, breaking the 28-year-old’s serve on his seventh break point and breaking again in the 10th game to force a fifth set. Blake, twice an Open quarterfinalist, claimed the only service break of the final set in the ninth game, taking a 5-4 lead when the 102-ranked Young sailed a forehand long.

He ended the two-hour, 48-minute slugfest on his second match point, when Young, playing his first career five-setter, netted a backhand.

“Donald really picked up his game and really played great toward end of the match,” said Blake, who committed 50 unforced errors in the match trying to find angles out of reach of the fast-footed teenager.

Young, the third youngest player in the men’s draw, took positives from the first-round duel against his fellow African American. “It was great,” said Young, who was playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium court for the first time. “I really enjoyed it.

“Obviously you’re a little disappointed you lost, but look who you’re playing.”

“It came down to a couple of points here and there. I think maybe my experience helped a little bit,” added Blake.

Playing for the first time as the top-ranked player on the ATP tour, Nadal swatted his very first shot wide against No. 136 Bjorn Phau. The Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion was two points from dropping the first set when he surged and, despite needing to bandage a nasty blister, won 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(4).

“I didn’t play with normal intensity,” Nadal said. “Probably I’m a little bit tired.”

Asked whether he was more fatigued mentally, physically or emotionally from Beijing, he said: “I think it is a little bit of everything.”

The women’s No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over American CoCo Vandeweghe.

Li Na, who beat Venus Williams in Beijing, beat No. 24 Shahar Peer of Israel 2-6, 6-0, 6-1.

The No. 23-seeded Davenport defeated Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada, 6-4, 6-2.

The third-seeded Kuznetsova beat Zhang Shuai of China 6-4, 6-2. — Agencies

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