Ivanovic fights off Vinci in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic fought off two match points and rallied for a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-1 victory over Roberta Vinci of Italy on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International.

Ivanovic will take on former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, who endured a marathon three-set win over fellow Frenchwoman Julie Coin, on Thursday.

Ivanovic was down a set and gave the 82nd-ranked Vinci double match point at 15-40 in the 10th game of the second. The 21-year-old Serb relied on strong groundstrokes and her serve to force enough errors by Vinci to stay in the game and pull out the set.

In the deciding set, Ivanovic won nine of the first 10 points, raced to a 5-0 lead and easily close out the match. She said winning a close match will give her confidence heading into the Australian Open, where she reached the final last year.

"It was really tough. She was playing really well, mixing it up a lot. I wasn't as aggressive as I should have been," Ivanovic said. "I tried to be fitter and tougher mentally than she was and it paid off. So that gives me confidence."

Ivanovic, who spent 12 weeks at No. 1 last season, also struggled at times in her first-round win over Petra Kvitova -- her first match of the season.

Ivanovic was only a point from being the second highly ranked player ousted in the inaugural Brisbane tournament. Her compatriot, and men's top seed, Novak Djokovic was upset in the first round.

Mauresmo recovered from 2-5 down in the third set to beat Coin 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (11) in the three-hour, 14-minute match -- the longest tour match of Mauresmo's career.

Mauresmo saved three match points and need five of her own to pull out the win over the 95th-ranked Coin, who only got a place in draw when Maria Kirilenko pulled out.

"I felt it was long, so long," said Mauresmo. "It's tough. I'm tight everywhere. A lot of work for my physio."

Her previous longest match during her 13 years on the tour was in 2005, when she needed three hours, seven minutes to beat Mary Pierce at the WTA Championship final.

Also, Italy's Sara Errani beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3.

On the men's side, No. 2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 3 Fernando Verdasco, No. 5 Tomas Berdych and No. 8 Radek Stepanek all advanced.

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