MONTREAL (AP)
- Top-ranked Ana Ivanovic ran into a bit of trouble against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic before prevailing 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Rogers Cup on Wednesday.
Ivanovic, the 2006 champion who had a first-round bye, overcame nine double faults and losing her serve five times in her first encounter with Kvitova, the 18-year-old who upset Venus Williams at Memphis this year.
The Serb played with a swollen right thumb she injured practicing 10 days earlier but she refused to use that as an excuse for her performance.
"I went on the court and that means that I felt 100 per cent ready to play," Ivanovic said. "So, obviously it takes some time to get in a rhythm. But I went through this match. It would probably be the same even if I was feeling 100 per cent."
Making her first appearance on tour since her third-round loss at Wimbledon, Ivanovic must finish ahead of world No. 2 Jelena Jankovic and No. 3 Maria Sharapova to keep the No. 1 ranking she's held since winning the French Open in early June.
Jankovic cruised past Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak 6-0, 6-4 while Sharapova struggled in her opener, taking nearly three hours to put down Marta Domachowska of Poland 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.
Sharapova needed a trainer to look at her right shoulder in the middle of the second set. In a match strewn with double faults, Sharapova made 17 to 13, but the Russian broke twice early in the third set for a 4-0 lead and held on.
In the third round, Ivanovic will play Tamira Paszek of Austria, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Melinda Czink of Hungary. Sharapova will meet Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama, and Jankovic faces another local, Stephanie Dubois.
Also advancing were Russian seeds Anna Chakvetadze, Dinara Safina and Nadia Petrova, along with 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito.
No. 6-seeded Chakvetadze downed the last American, Jill Craybas, 6-2, 7-5, No. 7 Safina easily moved past Russian compatriot Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-4, and Petrova accounted for Thai Olympian Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 6-2.
Also, No. 9 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland overcame Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-1, 7-5, winning five straight games to rally from 2-5 in the second set, and No. 11 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeated Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2, 6-2.
No. 10 Marion Bartoli of France received a walkover when Alisa Kleybanova of Russia withdrew with a lower back injury. Bartoli will play Chakvetadze next, and Petrova will meet Schnyder in the last 16.
Two seeds were knocked out. No. 15 Flavia Pennetta, runner-up to Safina at Los Angeles last week, was beaten by qualifier Larcher de Brito of Portugal 6-3, 0-6, 6-3. It is the second time this year the teen has reached the third round of a Tier I event, after Key Biscayne in March.
Local player Stephanie Dubois upset No. 13 Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (4), hitting a drop shot volley to force Kirilenko to hit into the net on match point, drawing rousing cheers from the Uniprix Stadium crowd.