Ana Ivanovic Blog

Ana felled by Azarenka

2009-06-02T21:39:00.001-07:00

Ana's French Open came to an end thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 defeat against ninth seed Victoria Azarenka. The match lasted 72 minutes and means that, for the first time since 2006, Ana will not be present in the final day of the second Grand Slam of the year.

The loss in her first meeting against Azarenka also denied Ana the chance of a rematch of the 2008 final against Russian and No.1 Dinara Safina, who would have been her opponent in quarter-finals.

Azarenka displayed steady aggression, harmful backhand shots and the confidence she had earned after her victory at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami to upset the defending champion.

The Belarusian earned the first break of serve thanks to a sizzling cross-court backhand passing-shot to take a 3-1 lead. From that moment on, Azarenka had control of most rallies as the 21-year-old appeared short of energy.

The 2008 champion could not control Azarenka's powerful, flat backhand and lost her serve once more when he sent a backhand wide after an intense rally. She asked for the trainer during the change of ends and later spoke of feeling dizzy. Azarenka closed the set when Ana netted a forehand.

Unfortunately for her supporters, the very first game of the second set offered no change. Ana saved three break points but couldn't succeed on the fourth one. The Belarusian grew in confidence and added points and games to her quest, while Ana continued to appear jaded.

The crowd gathered in the Suzanne Lenglen Stadium only had one favourite and her name was Ana. They started cheering for her noisily and she used that energy to get one break back and serve at 2-4. but her opponent hit two backhand winners to take a decissive 5-2 lead.

Ana raised the fan's voice once more when she earned her last break of serve, but missed two backhands in a row to finally lose the match.

Ana ended the match with 24 winners and 20 unforced errors. She enjoyed a warm ovation from the crowd as she left the court.

"I started really well, and I felt really good in the beginning," said Ana. "But later on during the match I started to feel very dizzy.

"She played very well today and the better player won. I'm obviously extremely disappointed with this loss, but there isn't much time to get too down about it because the grass season is just around the corner. That's a positive thing."

Ana vs Tanasugarn

2009-05-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ana is set to face world No.52 Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday. It will be the first meeting between the pair.

Tanasugarn reached round two thanks to a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Frenchwoman Camille Pin. Ana, meanwhile, beat world No.44 Sara Errani 7-6, 6-3.

Tanasugarn, who turned 31 on Monday, is playing in her 12th French Open tournament. Her best showing so far is a third round finish in 2002. The Thai is perhaps best-known for her performances at Wimbledon, where she has reachd the second week no fewer than seven times, including a quarter-final appearance last year.

During last year's grass court season she scored victories over the likes of former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic, current world No.1 Dinara Safina and world No.6 Vera Zvonareva.

Ana said: "She's a very experienced player and she's consistent. I know she will bring a lot of balls back, and I'm going to have to be patient in order to come through this match. I'm looking forward to it."

Rain in Paris caused delays to matches on Tuesday, so Wednesday's schedule could be affected. Click here for live point-by-point scoring from Paris.

Like it or not, Jankovic is No. 1

2008-08-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Jelena Jankovic will become the new No. 1 in women’s tennis on Monday when the updated rankings are posted.

Yes, that Jelena Jankovic - the player who owns a mere six career titles and has never played in a Grand Slam final.

The 23-year-old Serbian will have 3,620 points as of Monday, moving just eight points ahead of countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, who has held down the top spot since here maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Because her resume is missing a major title, many tennis observers have questioned whether Jankovic is truly deserving of being the 18th No. 1 player in the history of the sport.

Shock!! Ivanovic ousted at Wimbledon

2008-06-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

The top-seeded Serb was upset, 6-1, 6-4, by Chinese wild card Jie Zheng in third-round action at the grasscourt major Friday.

“It’s tough, but she played well today,” Ivanovic said. “It was a tough match for me, but I just look at it as a learning learning experience.”

Ivanovic had reached this stage after surviving scare on Wednesday, when she escaped with a 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3), 10-8 victory over Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.

The reigning French Open champion saved a pair of match points in the second set of that match. On the second of those match points saved, the top-ranked Ivanovic caught a break when a return shot clipped the top of the net and dropped softly to Dechy’s side of the court.

Ivanovic officially takes over at No. 1

2008-06-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

PARIS (AP)—French Open champion Ana Ivanovic officially moved up to No. 1 in the WTA Tour rankings for the first time Monday, replacing Maria Sharapova at the top.

Ivanovic is the 17th woman, and first representing Serbia, to be No. 1.

She entered the French Open at a career-high No. 2, but overtook Sharapova, who lost in the fourth round.

“Being No. 1 now holds more pressure,” Ivanovic said after beating Dinara Safina in straight sets in Saturday’s championship match. “But you’re also a professional athlete, and if you want to achieve your goals, you have to learn how to handle the pressure.”

ส่วนที่จะให้แสดง

Safina rose from No. 14 to No. 9, matching her career high.

Sharapova is now No. 2, followed by the losing semifinalists at Roland Garros, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Jankovic would have risen to No. 1 if she had beaten Ivanovic in their semifinal.

Elena Dementieva rose from No. 8 to No. 5. Serena Williams slipped one spot to No. 6, and Venus Williams stayed at No. 7. Both Williams sisters lost in the third round at Roland Garros.

There was no change in any of the top six spots in the ATP rankings, with French Open champion Rafael Nadal staying at No. 2 for the 151st consecutive week. The man he beat 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in Sunday’s championship match, Roger Federer, remains at No. 1, extending his record by sitting atop the rankings for the 228th consecutive week.

Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who lost to Nadal in the French Open semifinals, is still No. 3, followed by Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer and No. 6 Andy Roddick.

James Blake moved up one spot to No. 7, with David Nalbandian falling to No. 8. Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet round out the top 10.

Ana Ivanovic wins French Open 2008

2008-06-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic claimed her first grand slam title with a 6-4 6-3 win over Russia’s Dinara Safina in the French Open final on Saturday.

The second seed became the first woman representing Serbia to win a major title.

Ana Ivanovic Interview before Roland Garros Final

2008-06-06T19:29:00.001-07:00

Ana Ivanovic French Open 2008 Pics

2008-06-06T19:20:00.001-07:00

PREVIEW-Ana Ivanovic eager to face never-say-die Safina

2008-06-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

By Julien Pretot

PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) - Ana Ivanovic will have to deal with the added pressure of being the favourite if she is to lift her first grand slam title in the French Open final against Russian survivor Dinara Safina on Saturday.

The second seed, last year’s runner-up, is assured of the world number one ranking whatever happens against the 13th-seeded Safina, who knocked out previous incumbent Maria Sharapova in the fourth round at Roland Garros.

She suffered heavy defeats to Henin and to Sharapova in the Australian Open final in January, but against the world number 14, she is the undoubted favourite.

However, Safina is a tough nut to crack, as Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova can vouch.

Ivanovic will move up to No. 1 in rankings for 1st time

2008-06-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic is assured of becoming the 17th woman—and first from Serbia—to be ranked No. 1, regardless of how she fares in the French Open final.

She will move up from No. 2 when the WTA Tour’s new rankings are issued Monday, replacing Maria Sharapova in the top spot.

Ivanovic and two other women, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, all had a chance to take over at No. 1 after Sharapova lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros.

But Ivanovic beat Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the semifinals Thursday, while Kuznetsova lost to Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-2.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic, who will play Safina in the final Saturday, said she wasn’t aware she had clinched the No. 1 ranking by beating Jankovic until after the match.

Ana Ivanovic on FOX TV SERBIA

2008-05-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic on FOX TV SERBIA

Ana Ivanovic losing to Tsvetana Pironkova

2008-05-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic reacts to losing a point to Tsvetana Pironkova during playing WTA Tennis Open match in Rome on May 14, 2008. and Pironkova won 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

Ana Ivanovic on Chelsea TV

2008-03-15T21:40:00.001-07:00

Ana with Ioana Raluca Olaru in Pacific Life Open 2008

2008-03-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

return a shot to Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania, during their second round tennis match at the Pacific Life Open, Saturday, March 15, 2008, in Indian Wells, Calif.

reacts after winning a point over Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania during their second round tennis match at the Pacific Life Open, Saturday, March 15, 2008, in Indian Wells, Calif.

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia returns a shot to Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania during their second round tennis match at the Pacific Life Open, Saturday, March 15, 2008, in Indian Wells, Calif.

Jankovic and Davenport cruise, Ivanovic battles

2008-03-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) - Serbia’s world number four Jelena Jankovic and twice champion Lindsay Davenport coasted through their opening matches in the Pacific Life Open second round on Saturday.

Jankovic, shrugging off strong winds at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, crushed American wildcard Ahsha Rolle 6-0 6-2 and Davenport advanced when Argentina’s Gisela Dulko retired hurt with a thigh strain trailing 2-6.

However, world number two and top-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic had to fight back after losing the second set before defeating Romania’s Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-1 5-7 6-0 in a match lasting one hour, 55 minutes.

Jankovic, who reached her third grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open in January before losing to eventual winner Maria Sharapova, broke Rolle three times in each set to seal victory in just under an hour.

“The first rounds are always tough, especially in the windy conditions, and you have to be really focused and try to move your feet,” third-seeded Jankovic told reporters after surprisingly losing the first two games of the second set.

“That’s what I did today so I’m really glad with my performance. I’m happy to get through.”

American Davenport, champion at Indian Wells in 1997 and 2000 and runner-up here four times, broke in the opening game before Dulko summoned a fitness trainer when losing 2-3 on the Stadium Court.

Dulko, who lost to Davenport in the 2004 quarter-finals at Indian Wells in their only previous meeting, had her right thigh worked on and strapped up but was unable to continue after losing the first set.

HARD TIME

“I could tell she was having a really hard time moving to her right or to the forehand,” former world number one Davenport said.

“I wasn’t surprised when she stopped. She really didn’t seem like she could push off to her right side much at all.”

The 31-year-old Californian, who returned to the court last September after an 11-month absence to have a baby, said the windy conditions had presented a severe challenge.

“It was really tough out there today, especially since we had such a perfect week leading up to the windstorm that has come,” she added. “I was happy to end the match at that time.”

Ivanovic broke Olaru twice in the opening set and led 3-2 in the second before losing focus. The Romanian, gaining confidence, broke the Serb in the sixth and 12th games to level the match before Ivanovic regained form in the third.

“I was really upset when she broke me back at 3-2 in the second set and I just struggled to find my game little bit,” the 20-year-old said.

“I wasn’t moving enough and when it’s a windy day, we really have to focus on footwork and going around the ball. I didn’t do that well.

“In the third set, I just did what I should have done from the beginning, just being aggressive, staying low and moving around the ball. I’m happy just to be through and have opportunity to play better the next match.”

Earlier, sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France hammered Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-0 6-4 and Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, the 19th seed, swept past Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-2 6-1.

Qualifier Evgeniya Rodina upset 16th-seeded Virginie Razzano 6-0 6-7 6-2 and another Russian-French pairing saw 12th seed Vera Zvonareva scrape past Aravane Rezai 6-3 3-6 6-3.

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Ivanovic tops Indian Wells field

2008-03-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

INDIAN WELLS, California (Ticker)—Ana Ivanovic, who has climbed to No. 2 in the world rankings, headlines the field for the $2.1 million Pacific Life Open, a Tier I hardcourt event which continues Thursday.

The 20-year-old Serbian enjoyed a breakout season last year, winning titles in Berlin, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, and has gotten off to a solid start in 2008 as well.

While she has yet to win a title this year, Ivanovic did reach the final of the Australian Open, where she lost to Russian Maria Sharapova, 7-5, 6-3.

Ivanovic, the top seed here, is joined by three of the world’s top-five ranked players, including countrywoman Jelena Jankovic, the No. 3 seed.

Among the top-five seeds are two Russians - No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 4 Sharapova - and No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, the defending champion.

None of the 32 seeded players, who have received first-round byes, are in action Thursday.

Hantuchova captured her second Pacific Life Open title last year, beating Kuznetsova in the final. She also won here in 2002.

The top American entered is No. 24 seed Lindsay Davenport, who is participating in one of her favorite tournaments, having won it twice.

A three-time Grand Slam winner, the 31-year-old Davenport is enjoying a renaissance after being off the tour from late September 2006 to mid September of last year.

She already has posted two titles this year while logging a 12-2 match record. One of those defeats came to Sharapova in the Australian Open.

Fellow American Serena Williams is not entered in the event after claiming her 29th career title and first of the year last week at Bangalore.

Also skipping the tournament is world No. 1 Justine Henin of Belgium, who lost in the quarterfinals two weeks ago at Dubai.

Completing the top seeds are No. 6 Marion Bartoli of France, No. 7 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic and No. 8 Dinara Safina of Russia. The top 32 seeds received byes into the second round.

A trio of players from the United States - Ashley Harkleroad, Angela Haynes and Jill Craybas - advanced during opening-round play Wednesday.

Among the six U.S. players in action Thursday are wild cards Madison Brengle and Ahsha Rolle, who will meet in the lone all-American match of the day.

First prize is $332,000.

New movie advertise of Ivanovic

2008-03-08T02:04:00.000-08:00

New movie advertise of Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic in Karaoke

2008-03-08T01:59:00.000-08:00

Ana Ivanovic in Karaoke

Ivanovic-Dementieva QF final set Dubai 2008

2008-02-28T17:30:00.000-08:00

Ivanovic-Dementieva QF final set Dubai 2008 Video

Dubai Open women’s singles results

2008-02-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Dubai Open women's singles quarter-final
results on Thursday (prefix number denotes seeding, * denotes
new result)

* 8-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat 3-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 5-7
6-3 6-3
Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat 1-Justine Henin (Belgium) 7-6
7-6
4-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) beat 6-Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) 6-1
(Chakvetadze retired)
2-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Amelie Mauresmo (France)
6-1 7-6

Tour Dubai with Anna Ivanovic

2008-02-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Top seeds Ivanovic, Kuznetsova out of Qatar Open

2008-02-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

By Barry Wood

DOHA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Top-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic withdrew from the Qatar Open on Thursday after injuring her left ankle beating Olga Govortsova of Belarus the previous day.

The $2.5 million tournament then lost second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, who was beaten 6-3 7-6 by Austrian left-hander Sybille Bammer.

Ivanovic, runner-up to Maria Sharapova at last month’s Australian Open, slipped on the baseline when leading Govortsova 6-3 5-1 and struggled to finish her second-round match on Wednesday.

“It’s still pretty painful and hard for me to step on. I’m very disappointed the way I had to end this tournament,” Ivanovic told reporters.

“I was icing my foot all night. I had to wake up every hour so I didn’t get much sleep but hopefully the team around me can help me to recover as fast as I can.”

Ivanovic said she had not suffered a major tear.

“It’s a strain, an overstretch of the ligaments,” she said. “There’s not any major tear, which is definitely good, but there are a few micro-tears there.

“I still get a lot of pain and have to keep icing my foot and keep it compressed and elevated to try to keep the inflammation down.”

Ivanovic hopes to compete at the Dubai Tennis Championships next week where, because of a first-round bye, she would not have to play until Wednesday.

UNDER PRESSURE

Kuznetsova had struggled to overcome windy conditions on Wednesday, and the weather again proved to be as much of a challenge as her opponent.

Bammer put Kuznetsova under pressure from the start, breaking in the opening game, and went on to take the set.

Kuznetsova then served for the second set at 5-4, and after holding four set points surrendered the match on Bammer’s fourth match point when she netted a backhand.

In the windy conditions, play was interrupted three times during the final point by paper blowing across the court.

“I started to play better in the end, but in these conditions it was pretty impossible to play a normal game,” Kuznetsova said. “Playing bad I still had chances, so this is disappointing.”

The Russian considered that play should not have taken place in such conditions.

“I think so, yes,” she said. “It was a few times in my head, ‘Will they cancel this because this is a disaster’. I couldn’t play the ball and it was embarrassing to stay there, but I was still fighting to try and get this match somehow.”

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

Ana Ivanovic Pic , Ana Ivanovic Photo

2008-02-17T07:03:00.001-08:00

Anna Ivanovic Photo Collections

I Collect to share you may never to see it before.

Click on Read more to see more

Anna Ivanovic an Henin to play at German Open

2008-02-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

The world's top two players, Belgian Justine Henin and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, will compete at the German Open WTA event in Berlin in May, tournament organisers said on Wednesday. Australian Open finalist Ivanovic won in Berlin last year, coming from a set down to beat Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova for her first title on clay, while Henin is a three-time champion in the German capital. The $1.34-million tournament, expected to attract several more of the world's top 10 players, runs from May 5-11.

(Reporting by Iain Rogers, Editing by Clare Fallon)
from yahoo sport

Former champion Italy draws Ukraine in Fed Cup playoffs

2008-02-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

LONDON (AP) -- Former champion Italy will host Ukraine in April in World Group playoffs for the Fed Cup.

Italy was ousted by Spain 3-2 in the first round this year. The Italians beat Belgium 3-2 to win the 2006 title and lost 4-0 in last year's final.

France, the 2003 champion, was drawn Tuesday to play at Japan. France was upset by China 3-2 in the opening round but was missing No. 9 Marion Bartoli, No. 12 Tatiana Golovin and No. 18 Amelie Mauresmo.

Argentina will host Germany, which lost to the United States in the first round, and the Czech Republic will travel to Israel. Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic guided Serbia to a win over Romania in zonal qualifying and will next play at Croatia for a chance reach World Group II in 2009.

Also in World Group II playoffs, Austria hosts Switzerland, Belgium travels to Colombia and Slovakia hosts Uzbekistan.

The best-of-five series for both playoff groups is April 26-27. That's the same time as the semifinals when Russia hosts the United States and Spain plays at China.

Ana speaks in Serbian on Belgrade Television

2008-02-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

Lovely Ana speaks in Serbian on Belgrade Television.

ana ivanovic video

Charity exhibition in Belgrade Ana, Jelena, Novak Janko

2008-02-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

Ana Ivanovic Best Quality Photo

2008-02-02T20:51:00.001-08:00

I collected a little Ana picture for share on this blog , Hope you like it. Click on Image for view Big Size Image

Click Read More for more Picture

2008-02-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Technorati Profile

Ivanovic Career

2008-02-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

Ivanovic picked up a racket at the age of 5 after watching Monica Seles, a fellow Yugoslavian/Serbian, at Roland Garros on television. She started her promising career at the age of 5, after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an ad on TV. During her training she encountered the NATO bombings in 1999, where she would have to train in the morning to avoid them. Later on she admitted she would train in an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, as there were no other facilities. When she was 15, Ivanovic spent four hours in the locker room crying after a defeat - the first that her new manager had watched - because she thought that Dan Holzmann was going to drop her because she felt that she wasn't good enough to become a professional tennis player. He has stayed as her manager to this day.

Ivanovic is friends with former doubles partner Maria Kirilenko, as well as other professional tennis players Daniela Hantuchová, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sanja Ančić and fellow Serbians Novak Đoković (who she has known since the age of 5) and Janko Tipsarevic.

2004: Professional debut

She first caught the eye of the tennis world when she reached the final of the Junior Wimbledon tournament in 2004, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko. In 2004 she also went 26-0 on the challenger circuit, and won all 4 events that she entered, two of them as a qualifier. Her first professional breakthrough occurred in October of 2004 when she took Venus Williams to two tie breaks before losing 7-6(11), 7-6(6) in the second round of the Zürich Open in Zürich, Switzerland, in which she held several set points in both sets; this was after a tremendous 3 set battle with then-ranked Number 27 Tatiana Golovin. She followed that up with a quarterfinal showing in Luxembourg the following week.

2005: Maiden title

In 2005 Ivanovic burst onto the scene by winning her first career singles title, as a qualifier, in Canberra, Australia, by defeating Melinda Czink in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. Her ranking continued to rise after impressive wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, Vera Zvonareva, all (at the time) Top 10 players. She lost to Amélie Mauresmo in the Australian Open, Doha, and Miami, but later on she gained her revenge when she scored her biggest win as she knocked out the local favorite and 3rd seed in the 2005 French Open's third round, before her tournament came to an end in the Quarterfinals after an encounter with Russia's Nadia Petrova. Later on in the year, injury sidelined her from moving further up the rankings, but she showed signs of great form in the Zurich Open and Linz, by making the semi-finals in both, though she lost to Patty Schnyder at both tournaments. Her great year saw her end at Number 16 in the rankings. Ivanovic said that she "hope[s] to be in the Top 10 next year."

2006: Solid season

Ivanovic started off 2006 by playing at the Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian Novak Đoković where the pair narrowly missed the final. To start off her WTA year she played in Sydney where she once again defeated Mauresmo, this time in straight sets, before falling to an in-form Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.

She continued with some solid results, defeating Anna Chakvetadze 6-3 6-3 before falling to Elena Dementieva in three sets. In the clay court season, she defeated Patty Schnyder in straight sets at Warsaw before losing to an in-form Anna Chakvetadze after a three-set battle. Retiring against Na Li in Berlin while leading a set, she was unable to reproduce her record from the previous year, falling to Anastasia Myskina in straight sets in the third round of Roland Garros. She progressed to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon but lost to eventual champion Amélie Mauresmo, 6-3 6-4.

She made her breakthrough in August when she defeated former world number one and comeback queen Martina Hingis in the final of the Canada Masters, in which she won 6-2, 6-3. This ultimately led to her winning the United States Open Series ahead of Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova. At the US Open she lost to the resurgent Serena Williams. After some early round losses to Olga Poutchkova in Bali and Venus Williams in Luxembourg Ivanovic took a few weeks off to tend to a recurring injury in her right shoulder. She made her return in Linz and made it to the quarterfinals, before losing to Maria Sharapova in two tight sets. To finish off her year she had a disappointing run in Hasselt, Belgium, as she lost to Dutch player Michaëlla Krajicek.

Ivanovic also played 9 tournaments in doubles this year, teaming up with Maria Kirilenko and Sania Mirza. Ivanovic and Kirilenko made 2 semi-finals and a final; they ended the year at number 17 in the annual 'Race to the Championships.'

Ivanovic finished off 2006 as the 14th best ranked woman in the world. In the doubles, she crept up to finish at number 51 in the world, an improvement of her Top 200 finish in 2005.

2007: Top 5 debut

Ivanović's first tournament was the Mondial Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia, falling to Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Her next tournament was the Sydney Medibank International, where she again lost in the quarterfinals, this time to Nicole Vaidišová 6-4, 6-2.

Ivanovic was the thirteenth seed at the Australian Open. She defeated Polish player Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round but lost to World No. 22 Vera Zvonareva in the third round 6-1, 6-2. Immediately after the tournament, Ivanovic announced via her official website that she had terminated the services of her then-coach, David Taylor.

At the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Ivanovic reached her third career final, defeating Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals and Maria Sharapova in the semifinals. Ivanovic then lost to Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-2.

Ivanovic then left for Europe and played the tournament in Antwerp, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Kim Clijsters.

Her next two tournaments were Tier I events in the United States. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Ivanovic was upset in the fourth round by Sybille Bammer. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Ivanovic was upset by Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round.

The following week, Ivanovic began her clay court season at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida. She defeated Janković in the quarterfinals before falling to Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. In her first appearance at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina the following week, Ivanovic lost to Vera Zvonareva in the third round.

Ivanovic then returned to Europe to play two red clay court tournaments. In Berlin at the Qatar Telecom German Open, she won her first Tier I clay court title. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals and World No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. However, Ivanovic injured her ankle during the final, which forced her to withdraw from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The win in Berlin propelled her into the top ten of the WTA Rankings for the first time, at World No. 8.

Ivanovic then headed into the French Open on a six-match winning streak. She increased this streak to twelve by reaching the final. She won her first three matches with the loss of only nine games. In her second career quarterfinal at Roland Garros, Ivanovic defeated World No. 3 Kuznetsova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1. She then beat World No. 2 Sharapova in the semifinals 6-2, 6-1. In the final, Ivanovic attempted to win her first Grand Slam singles title and complete a sweep of the top three players in the world. Three-time winner Justine Henin, however, won the error-strewn match 6-1, 6-2. Later on, Ivanovic admitted that the idea of being in the final of a Grand Slam tournament overwhelmed her.

With the clay court season over, Ivanovic played the Ordina Open on grass in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, losing in the quarterfinals to Daniela Hantuchová. At Wimbledon, Ivanovic defeated World No. 9 Nadia Petrova in the fourth round 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Ivanovic saved three match points to defeat Vaidišová 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. In the semifinals, three-time former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams defeated Ivanovic 6-2, 6-4.

A pestering knee injury, sustained at Wimbledon, required Ivanovic to withdraw from Serbian Fed Cup competition with Slovakia and two lead up events to the U.S. Open.[3] Ivanovic returned to the tour at the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California. In the semifinals, Ivanovic played her country woman Janković for the third time that year. Ivanovic saved two match points before winning the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. In the final, Ivanovic defeated Petrova to win the fourth singles title of her career, which propelled her to a career high ranking of World No. 4.

Ivanovic next attempted to defend her title at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada. However, her title defence lasted only 65 minutes as she lost to Chinese qualifier Yan Zi 6-3, 6-1.

In her first three matches at the U.S. Open, Ivanovic lost only ten games. Venus Williams then eliminated Ivanovic for the second consecutive time at a Grand Slam tournament, 6-4, 6-2.

Ivanovic then returned to Europe for three tournaments. At the Tier II (now changed to Tier III) Luxembourg Championships, Ivanovic reached the semifinals and qualified for the WTA Tour Championships. In the final, Ivanovic rallied from 6-3, 3-0 down to defeat Hantuchová in two hours and 25 minutes. This was her fifth career title. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Ivanovic lost to Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko in the second round 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Playing at what Ivanovic considers her home event, the Tier I Zürich Open, she lost to Golovin in the second round 6-3, 6-1.

To end the year, Ivanovic played the WTA Tour Championships. Seeded fourth and assigned to the Red Group during the round robin phase, she defeated World No. 2 Kuznetsova in a close three set match and Hantuchová in straight sets. Sharapova then defeated Ivanovic in the final match of the round robin 6-1, 6-2. Because she finished second in her group, Ivanovic was forced to play World No. 1 Henin in the semifinals, which Henin won 6-4, 6-4.

Ivanovic finished the year with a career-high ranking of World No. 4, a mere 14 points behind compatriot Janković.

[edit] 2008

Ivanovic started the year by participating in an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, where she was seeded first. She lost to Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Ivanovic then entered the Silver Group, a competition among all first match losers. She was favored to win that competition; however, she lost to World No. 45 Shuai Peng 6-1, 6-3.

Ivanović's next tournament was the Sydney Medibank International, which attracted 12 of the top 15 ranked women. After trailing 5-2 in the third set of her second round match, Ivanovic defeated Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. In the quartefinals, Ivanovic defeated Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik but then lost to Justine Henin in the semifinals 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. This was the first time in four meetings that Ivanovic had taken a set off Henin. This tournament improved Ivanović's ranking to World No. 3.

Ivanovic entered the Australian Open as the fourth seed and reached the quarterfinals for the first time. There, Ivanovic defeated Venus Williams for the first time 7-6, 6-4. In her semifinal against Daniela Hantuchova, Ivanovic prevailed 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach her second career Grand Slam final, after having trailed 6-0, 2-0. She then lost to Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-3. Because of her performance at this tournament, her ranking rose to World No. 2, the highest of her career.

In Serbia's opening Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I tie against Poland, Ivanovic defeated
World No. 215 Urszula Radwanska 6-3, 6-1.

Ana Ivanovic Playing style

2008-02-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

Ivanovic is an offensive baseliner. Her game relies heavily on the power, depth and placement of her forehand strokes, producing lots of winners through penetrating, flat shots, with the occasional spice of topspin. Her net play is not used as often, but her volleys are generally well executed, as are her drop shots. Her two-handed backhand is solid, but given sufficient time, she usually reverts to an inside-out forehand or a one-handed slice backhand instead. She has a huge but inconsistent serve, although she has been known for hitting aces on her second serve; she has won one-sided matches with a first serve percentage of below 40% but makes it up through her well-timed aces.

In spite of her height Ivanović has good court coverage and has been noticeably working on her fitness, which has highly improved her movement around the court. Ivanović often describes her own playing as "point by point", a mindset that has provided memorable comebacks in matches that seemed to be lost. On the other hand, her performances suffer with ups and downs on her level of playing from one match to another, and not rarely on the same one. Ivanović also tends to show difficulty in adapting and changing her strategy when not in control of the game. Overall, her style is suitable for all surfaces; Ivanović, however, prefers to play on clay courts. This is probably due to clay courts being the slowest of those played on each year, which allows her more time to reach shots from her opponents and aim up an attacking groundstroke of her own. Although it is harder to hit through opponents on clay due to the tendency of the ball to hold up off the surface, Ivanović has the necessary power to overcome a great deal of this disadvantage. As a result, she was able to use this to great effect during her run to the 2007 Roland Garros final.

Ana Ivanovic Biography

2008-02-01T07:57:00.000-08:00

Ana Ivanovic born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade) is a Serbian professional tennis player. She is currently ranked World No. 2 and is the top ranked Serbian player, just in front of compatriot Jelena Jankovic. At the 2007 French Open, Ivanović reached her first Grand Slam singles final, losing to Justine Henin. She also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the Women's Tennis Association Tour Championships in 2007. At the 2008 Australian Open final, she was defeated by Maria Sharapova.

Ana Ivanovic's mother, Dragana, a lawyer, attends her daughter's matches all season along, while Ana's father, Miroslav, who is a self-employed businessman attends as many events as he can. Ana has a younger brother Miloš, with whom she loves to play basketball. Other hobbies include shopping, watching movies and playing Sudoku. Ivanović's uncle is a former footballer and now a coach. One of her uncles lives in Melbourne, Australia. Her inspiration to begin playing was Monica Seles, and she also admires Roger Federer.

On September 8, 2007, Ivanović has become a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, alongside Aleksandar Đorđević and Emir Kusturica. She takes a special interest in the fields of education and child protection. Ivanović visited a primary school in Serbia during her inauguration and said: "I'm also looking forward to going into the classroom and meeting many kids." She is also a fan of football team FK Partizan Belgrade.