When a lower-ranked minnow is on a streak – the top players all say – you just have to hang in and hope they come out of it: lose form, lose their nerve. But some days they do not. On paper, Ana Ivanovic’s meeting with Bethanie Mattek-Sands looked like one of the mismatches of the day. But Mattek-Sands, the world No158, was just spectacular and dumped out the seventh seed in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, with a relentless display of flamboyant, attacking tennis.
Mattek-Sands was an authentic underdog coming into this second-round match: only once in 2015 had the 30-year-old American won two singles matches back-to-back before now.