Seventh seeded Ana Ivanovic defeated Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets 6-1 6-3 and kept her hopes alive for a semifinals berth at the WTA Finals in Singapore on Wednesday.

The 2008 French Open champion came out very aggressive in the first set as she broke the 20-year-old Bouchard twice to easily take the set.

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The Toray Pan Pacific champion Ivanovic had some problems in the second set at 3-3 when she had numerous opportunities to break Bouchard but wasn't able to deliver.

But Ivanovic kept her calm, held on to her serve, broke the Canadian and then served out for the match that lasted an hour and 23 minutes.

"This is the beauty of the round robin system," Ivanovic said. "I'd lost to her twice before, so today I tried to be aggressive and step in. I did this well and I'm really pleased with how I played."

Both players were questionable before the tournament as Bouchard pulled out of the Luxembourg Open because of a left thigh injury while Ivanovic withdrew at Linz due to a hip injury.

Next up for Ivanovic, Simona Halep, who handed World No. 1 Serena Williams' worst loss since 1998, winning just two games 0-6 2-6.

"I think she's a great player," Ivanovic said of Williams after suffering a loss against Halep. "Not everyone can play perfect in every match. You know, I kind of got killed by the two players in my pool not named Serena, so I think it can only get better from here."

In Group White, second seeded Maria Sharapova will try to keep her bid alive as she faces Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova who also has a 0-1 record while Rogers Cup champion Agnieszka Radwanska will battle it out against Danish star Caroline Wozniacki for top spot on Thursday.

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