Ivanovic suffers shock defeat to Mauresmo

Ana Ivanovic suffered a miserable time in Brisbane as she was beaten by Amelie Mauresmo in yesterday's quarter-final.

BRISBANE // The former No 1 Amelie Mauresmo upset top-seeded Ana Ivanovic in the Brisbane International quarter-finals Thursday, her first victory over a top-10 player in two years. Mauresmo, 29, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion in 2006, dropped serve only once while breaking Ivanovic five times to advance 6-3, 6-2 to the semi-finals.

Ivanovic, who spent 12 weeks at No 1 last season, frequently followed stinging forehands with unforced errors. The Serbian's game was erratic and the fifth-seeded Mauresmo took full advantage. Ivanovic, 21, said: "Lots of times early in the rally I was going for a shot that I wouldn't usually go, taking a little bit more risk, coming to the net a lot. I had so many mis-hits. It was very disappointing."

In the other women's quarter- final, second-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus lost three of her first four service games before recovering for a 7-6, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova. Meanwhile, in the men's draw, the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 win over Florent Serra, of France, to reach the last four. * AP