Tennis – Šafářová beats Ivanovic

Czech Lucie Šafářová, the world's 44th ranked player, defeated 11th-ranked Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 6-4, 7-6 in one hour and 26 minutes in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday, underlining the latter’s mystifying loss of form. Šafářová had lost two of her previous three meetings with Ivanovic, one of them at last year's French Open when the Serb went on to win the title before reaching number one. Commentators say Šafářová's win was arguably the highlight of a low-key opening day at the lucrative Pan Pacific Open, featuring nine of the world's top 10 women.