Bartoli Shocks Ivanovic, Enters Semi-Finals

In the first of the two Quarter Finals on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open, 2007 Wimbledon Finalist ,Frenchwomen Marion Bartoli played some brilliant tennis to knock out former Indian Wells champion and No.19 Ana Ivanovic in the Quarter-Finals of the BNP Paribas Open. Bartoli,the No.15 seed here, defeated Ivanovic 64 76(4) in a 2 hour and 8 mins long battle.

An In-form Bartoli looks to be a contender for the Premier title at Indian Wells.

For Ivanovic,it was much of a disappointment after beating the likes of Jelena Jankovic in the previous round.Ivanovic, the No.19 seed, was the only player to reach the quarters here without losing a set, and had also won four of her previous six meetings with Bartoli; but the No.15-seeded Frenchwoman was just too solid throughout the match, making half as many winners (19 to 39) but also half as many unforced errors (22 to 44). She was just that bit better on her serve – there were 13 breaks in 22 service games during the match, seven going to Bartoli, six going to Ivanovic.

“I’m so happy to be in the semifinals of Indian Wells for the first time,I was a little bit sick this morning and it was really hot today, but during the first set the physios helped a lot. I have a day off tomorrow and I’ll try to recover, and I look forward to seeing you all on Friday.”A jubilant Bartoli said on her on-court interview.

Yanina Wickmayer will take on Marion Bartoli for a place in Finals.

Next up for the Frenchwomen is Belgian No.25 seed Yanina Wickmayer ,who breezed past Israeli No.10 seed Shahar Peer 63 63 in the Quarter-Finals.Bartoli and Wickmayer have met twice before ,with both the matches being won by Bartoli.The other two QFs will take place on Thursday which will see No.16 seed and Former World No.1 Maria Sharapova taking on Chinese sensation Shuai Peng and World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki taking on No.8 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.