Ivanovic advances to Aegon Classic semis

Ana Ivanovic reached her first semifinal since October by beating Mirjana Lucic 6-3, 6-4 at the Aegon Classic on Friday.

The former top-ranked Ivanovic dropped only three points on her service games in the first set, and struck the ball so effectively that few rallies lasted more than four shots.

The Serb withdrew from the doubles competition to minimize the chances of a recurrence of her recent wrist problems. She said "since the first match I have felt good about myself, and my game. I am just trying to enjoy it while it lasts."

In the semifinal, Ivanovic will play Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, who earlier ended the run of American Alison Riske.