Intro:

Ana Ivanovic beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets on Thursday (15th May) to end her 11 match losing streak to the Russian.

Script:

After eleven consecutive defeats to Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic looked wary as she waited to meet the Russian on court once again.

You could say Ivanovic needed a little bit of luck to prevail in the third round of the Rome Masters.

The Serbian definitely enjoyed her fortune as she raced through the opening set.

But it was Ivanovic's quality that sealed her a vital break in the second.

And pure power that saw her break the Sharapova hoodoo.

The relief was evident.

It was the first time Ivanovic had defeated Sharapova in seven years.

For Sharapova, it was a first loss on clay to someone other than Serena Williams since May 2011.

There was no such surprise in the next match.

Sixth seed Jelena Jankovic overcame a stubborn Flavia Pennetta 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.