(PICTURE)

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic became the biggest casualty this week when she crashed to Nadia Petrova in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open on Thursday.

The Serbian second seed, who reached the top spot after winning her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros, fought back from losing the opening set to take the second and level the match.

But she lost her service in the first game of the final set and never recovered, losing to the Russian 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.

The unseeded Petrova, ranked 20, used her powerful groundstrokes and charged hard to the net on any short balls as she dismantled Ivanovic's game.

When she fired a forehand winner on her advantage point to break Ivanovic for a second time in the final set, it was always going to be her day.

In the quarter-finals on Friday, Petrova will play sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Marion Bartoli earlier Thursday.

Sapa-AFP

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