WTA Western and Southern Open Betting: In-form Ivanovic to put up fight against Williams

Serena to be tested...

After a pair of grueling semi-finals, Abelson Info preview the Western and Southern Open final
between Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic...

It was memorable day of action in Cincinnati on Saturday with two thrilling semi-finals between four
of the top ranked players in the world.

World number one Serena Williams reignited her rivalry with Caroline Wozniacki, and fresh from
their sensational clash at the Rogers Cup in Montreal just last week, the pair served up another
classic but ultimately it was the same result.

Despite the Dane taking the first set, the American responded like a champion before a battle in the
third, and she eventually prevailed with her serve undoubtedly getting her out of trouble.

Williams has never won at this tournament before, but she has now put herself in a fantastic
position to end that drought and add yet another title to her collection.

Standing in her way will be ninth seed Ana Ivanovic, with the Serbian star coming through her own
war last time out against Maria Sharapova.

The Russian produced a dramatic comeback as she displayed her incredible powers of recovery yet
again to wipe out a significant deficit to have match points of her own.

However, perhaps unlike in the past, Ivanovic was able to dig deep and stay mentally focused in
order to avoid throwing away a huge opportunity at reaching a final, and she finally prevailed after a
marathon.

The win was significant for the ninth seed as it also has consequences for her world ranking, moving
her up to world number nine and given Li Na's absence at the US Open, Ivanovic will be guaranteed
a top-eight seed at the Grand Slam.

However, her more immediate focus will be on adding to her WTA-leading 47 wins so far this season,
but as expected, it won't be easy against an opponent she has struggled against in the past.

Williams leads their head-to-head record 6-1, but perhaps more importantly, it's 2-1 in 2014 and
Ivanovic has forced all three meetings to go the distance.

Provided that she has had sufficient time to recover and rest, Ivanovic will fancy her chances of
making this competitive at least, proving in Stanford most recently that she is confident enough to
take Williams on.

Add to that her triumph over the American at the Australian Open and she should have belief in
her ability, but if she starts to suffer from fatigue after such an epic clash last time out, Williams will
show no mercy.

As a result, it is difficult to predict this encounter to an extent, but given the form that Ivanovic is
currently in, we envisage the Serbian ace making this competitive at least.

Recommended Bets:
Back Serena Williams to win 2-1 @ 4.47/2
Back Over 20.5 Games in Williams-Ivanovic @ 1.834/5