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Ivanovic loses in 1st round of French Open
tennis

Ivanovic loses in 1st round of French Open

Published May. 24, 2011 6:34 p.m. ET

Ana Ivanovic was overcome with emotion after losing in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday, shedding tears as she considered her injury-plagued season.

The 2008 French Open champion lost to Johanna Larsson of Sweden 7-6 (3), 0-6, 6-2. She also lost in the first round at the Australian Open.

''I try to look back and see what I've done then and to do the same things,'' the 20th-seeded Ivanovic said tearfully. ''I'm just trying to work it out.''

For Larsson, it was only her second win in four Grand Slam appearances.

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The 64th-ranked Swede saved four set points to force a first-set tiebreaker. She then took a 4-0 lead and hit a forehand winner to clinch an opening set in which Ivanovic made 17 unforced errors to only three for Larsson.

However, Ivanovic fought back by winning six straight games in the next set.

''I just tried to forget about it quickly and move on and keep thinking positive,'' Larsson said. ''I was really thinking about how nice it is to play in this big court and with all this crowd, and I was trying to get some help from them. It worked in the end.''

Unforced errors caught up with Ivanovic in the final set as the Serbian netted a backhand to give Larsson a 3-1 lead before sealing her own demise by sending a forehand into the net.

''I felt like I was running out of power in the end,'' Ivanovic said. ''I couldn't really adjust small steps and dominate with my forehand or couldn't really put that extra zip on the ball.''

Ivanovic has worked hard to put her career back on track but her season has been marred by injuries. She had an abdominal strain that forced her to withdraw from the Sydney International in January and miss the Qatar Open in February. She injured her abdominal again in a Fed Cup match against Slovakia in April and withdrew last week from the Strasbourg International because of left wrist inflammation.

''I had physios traveling with me the last couple of weeks,'' Ivanovic said, ''but it hasn't worked out the way it was supposed to. It's very frustrating.

''I feel like it's all there. I just need to be healthy and to be able to play. ... The inflammation is gone, so I hope it's not going to come back.''

Ivanovic has not reached the last four of any tournament this year, while Larsson has advanced to the semifinals twice.

The 22-year-old Larsson cracked the top 100 last June.

''Right now I hope to get under 50, and then always keep getting better and (higher) in the rankings,'' Larsson said. ''My vision is for sure top 10, but we take it step by step.''

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