Ana Ivanovic of Serbia hits a return to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during their match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 28, 2014. REUTERS/Adam Hunger
Ana Ivanovic is ranked ninth in the world. She lost in the second round of the 2014 US Open. The farthest that she has reached in the women’s singles of the tournament was in 2012 when she made it to the quarterfinals. REUTERS

Ana Ivanovic booked her third round place at the 2014 China Open. The Serbian athlete defeated Romina Oprandi of Switzerland in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, in the second round of the said tournament.

Both Ivanovic and Oprandi struggled to hold their serves in the first set, but Ivanovic proved to be the better player as she displayed an impressive performance and won in the end to advance in the tournament.

Ivanovic has met Oprandi in the third round of the Beijing tournament in 2012. She lost against the Swiss athlete in straight sets. Ivanovic's victory over Oprandi in the 2014 China Open is a great win to avenge her loss two years ago. Ivanovic will play against Sabine Lisicki in the third round.

Ivanovic has previously faced another Swiss athlete in the first round. She crushed Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rising star Belinda Bencic in straight-sets victory, 6-2, 6-1. According to Ivanovic via the WTA's official site, her goal is to make it to the quarterfinals. She said she is taking it one match at a time.

"The conditions here are very different than at my past few tournaments, so it takes a bit of adjustment," Ivanovic said. The Serbian athlete said she is just enjoying her time and is hopeful that she gets to play more in Beijing.

Ivanovic's Performance in Beijing

Ivanovic's first appearance in Beijing was supposed to be during the 2009 China Open. Unfortunately, she had to pull out of the tournament due to an upper respiratory tract infection. In 2010, Ivanovic competed in Beijing. She made her way into the quarterfinals, but lost to eventual winner Caroline Wozniacki.

Ivanovic was also a participant at the 2011 China Open. She cruised into the quarterfinals, beating Kimiko Date-Krumm, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2010 runner-up Vera Zvonareva, and Agnieszka Radwanska. Ivanovic later withdrew after suffering a back injury.

Ivanovic's last China Open tournament was in 2012. She entered the competition as the 11th seed. She beat Christina Hale and Varvara Lepchenko in the early rounds, but lost to Oprandi in the third round. Ivanovic is still looking to win her first title in Beijing. The tournament runs from Sept. 9 to Oct. 5.