• US Open

Ivanovic survives scare, Kvitova crashes out

Ana Ivanovic had to dig deep and come back from a set and a break down against Christina McHale © Getty Images

Enlarge

Ana Ivanovic came from a set and a break down to defeat Christina McHale 4-6 7-5 6-4 in her third round match at the US Open.

Ivanovic, a former world No. 1, had dropped only five games in her progression to the third round, but struggled for rhythm in the opening exchanges on Arthur Ashe, making 21 unforced errors in the first set.

McHale capitalised, much to the delight of her home crowd, before moving a break up in the second; however, Ivanovic recovered well to level at 3-3 before allowing McHale to break back once more.

The American had a chance to serve for the match but could not close out, which opened the door for Ivanovic; she needed no invite to walk through and yelled loudly as she won the second to send the match into a decider.

From there, the momentum was only going to shift one way as Ivanovic was simply too strong for McHale in the final set. When a tired McHale forehand went long over the baseline, Ivanovic shouted in delight over a hard fought victory and well-earned place in the fourth round.

"I try not to think of the score," Ana Ivanovic told Sky Sports. "She's a great player. I just tried to be aggressive and took some risks, so I'm very pleased. At the end of the second set I found my rhythm a little bit."

Second seed Victoria Azarenka survived a scare as she overcame Alize Cornet 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2 on Louis Armstrong.

In an error-ridden performance which lasted two hours 40 minutes, Azarenka eventually concluded her victory when racing through the third set. It was not all plain sailing though, as Azarenka made 38 unforced errors in the match, only softened by her opponent's total of 44.

Azarenka will now face Ivanovic in the fourth round.

Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova suffered a 6-3 6-0 defeat in her match against world No. 81 Alison Riske, although had apparently been suffering with illness.

Kvitova's camp stated she had been for a blood test ahead of her meet with Riske, where she was found to be suffering from a virus.

It showed, as the world No. 10 made 27 unforced errors in two sets on Court 17 and only landed 34% of the points on her second serve.

Riske now faces Daniela Hantuchova after she enjoyed a 3-6 7-5 7-6(4) victory over Julia Glushko.

Elsewhere, 2004 Flushing Meadows champion Svetlana Kutznetsova was ousted by world No. 83 Flavia Pennetta 7-5 6-1 on Court 1, while 14th seed Maria Kirilenko suffered a 6-1 6-0 defeat to 21st seed Simona Halep.

Download ESPN's new UK sport app, a fresh and powerful new way to follow your favourite UK sports news, scores and video.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd