Ana Ivanovic arrived Down Under at the start of 2014 still searching for the form that once took her to the top of the tennis world. Victory in Auckland, and then a run to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open provided the springboard for a tremendous campaign that saw her return to the Top 10.

The highlight of this early resurgence came when she kicked out top seed and red-hot favorite Serena Williams on a sweltering afternoon on Rod Laver. However, 12 months later the boot was very much on the other foot.

Coming into the tournament seeded No.5 and fresh from a final in Brisbane, Ivanovic was in buoyant mood. On the face of it, the draw had been kind, too, pitting her against Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka and far away from any of the dangerous floaters.

What followed was the upset of the tournament.

There was no hint at what was to come from the opening set, a tentative Hradecka struggling to keep the ball in court in her first Grand Slam main draw outing for 12 months. But even then, the World No.142 sensed she had a chance, Ivanovic looking uncharacteristically ordinary.

Spying a chink in the Serb’s armor, Hradecka went for the jugular, taking charge of the rallies and clubbing double-fisted winner after winner. For much of the final two sets, she was irresistible, and to the shock of those watching on quelled the nerves that must surely have been lurking to close out a famous 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph.

“I was so nervous in the beginning. My hand was shaky,” Hradecka said afterwards. “But I played one time against Ana before, at Wimbledon five years ago, and I had two match points, so my goal was if I had match point this time to finish it. And I’m so happy I did it this time.”

For all her success the previous year, by her own admission, Ivanovic had underperformed at the majors, making her opening day setback all the more difficult to stomach.

“I think it’s just mentally how you approach each match,” Ivanovic said. “I really felt good before the tournament started. I had a great week in Brisbane. The level was really high. But you just have to accept that you’re going to have tough days and you got to go through the tough days to improve. I’m such a perfectionist and sometimes I judge myself too much.”