Simona Halep ‘less than 9’ in victory at US Open

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic suffered a fourth successive defeat on Tuesday but insisted she is not about to follow football star husband Bastian Schweinsteiger into global retirement.

Earlier today, No.26 seed Ana Ivanovic was stunned in straight sets by Czech player Denisa Allertova 7-6 (4), 6-1 in her opening match at the US Open.

Since June, Ivanovic’s won only one match and has lost in Wimbledon, Rogers Cup, Cincinnati and now at the US Open. Twelve months ago, she lost her opener to Dominika Cibulkova. “I really feel like I have to, yeah, reassess, because like I said, I have been putting so many hours on court and in the gym in particular trying to get my body healthy”.

Ivanovic, who turns 29 in November, said she’s not considering retirement.

Ivanovic has not won a match since marrying Manchester United and Germany footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger in July, which has brought up the inevitable questions over whether it has proved a distraction.

The late wobble, in front of a crowd that included compatriot Nadia Comeneci – the first gymnast to be awarded a ideal score of 10 – had Halep rating her own performance “less than nine”. It just hurts because I know what I invested.

Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open victor, started off well but failed to maintain her momentum.

Despite the continued failure, Ivanovic is keen on digging her way back to winning ways rather than quitting.

“He started playing much better so it was tough third and fourth sets but luckily I got out of the last two games”, said Nishikori.

In the second set, her strategy of pulling back on big shots backfired. “If I don’t get a few more of my first serves in, I’ll be in trouble against the top players”.

“Last year I ended up with very, very bad back, and this year it hasn’t been coming back because I worked so hard at it”.

Del Potro beat fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3) after missing the tournament the last two years because of three left wrist surgeries.

Simona Halep gave herself “less than 9” for her quick work in Kirsten Flipkens 6-0, 6-2 in the first match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Like I said, it’s not like I don’t work.

Halep needed less than an hour, but admitted she was “too nervous to finish the match” after failing to take advantage of her first chance to close it out when leading 6-0, 5-0. She joins her boyfriend Jan Satral in the second round; he defeated American Mackenzie McDonald in five sets on Monday.