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Ana Ivanovic
Country (sports) Serbia and Montenegro
(2003–2006)
 Serbia (2006–present)
ResidenceBasel, Switzerland
Born (1987-11-06) November 6, 1987 (age 37)
Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1][2]
Turned proAugust 17, 2003
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ 8,153,346
Singles
Career record283–120
Career titles10 WTA, 5 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 1 (June 9, 2008)
Current rankingNo. 17 (July 4, 2011)[3]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (2008)
French OpenW (2008)
WimbledonSF (2007)
US Open4R (2007, 2010)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF (2007)
Doubles
Career record23–28
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 50 (September 25, 2006)
Current rankingNo. 244 (April 4, 2011)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open1R (2005, 2007)
Wimbledon3R (2005)
US Open3R (2006)
Last updated on: January 10, 2011.

Ana Ivanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Ана Ивановић; Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [âna i̞v̞ǎːnɔ̝v̞i̞ʨ] ⓘ) (born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia) is a former World No. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of 4 July 2011, she will be ranked World No. 17 on the WTA rankings.[3] She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open[4] and the 2008 Australian Open.[5]

Early life

Ivanović's mother Dragana, a lawyer, supports her daughter during most of her matches. Her father Miroslav, a self-employed businessman, attends as many events as he possibly can. Ana has a younger brother, Milos, with whom she loves to play basketball.[6]

Personal life

Aside from her tennis career, Ivanović also studies finance at a university in Belgrade and Spanish in her spare time.[7] Her inspiration to begin playing was Monika Seleš, who at that time played for Yugoslavia.[8]

On September 8, 2007, Ivanović became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, alongside Aleksandar Đorđević, Jelena Janković 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 that she is "also looking forward to going into the classroom and meeting many kids."[9]

Career

Ivanović picked up a racket at the age of five after watching Monica Seles, a fellow Yugoslav, on television. She started her career after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an advertisement. At the time, she was forced to train during the morning to avoid bombardments. Later, she admitted that she trained in an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, as there were no other facilities. When she was 15, Ivanović spent four hours in the locker room crying after a defeat — the first that her new manager had watched. She thought that Dan Holzmann, the manager in question, would drop her, thinking that she was not good enough to become a professional tennis player. He has stayed her manager to this day.

2004

Ivanović reached the final of the Junior Wimbledon tournament in 2004, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko.[10] In 2004, she went 26–0 on the ITF circuit, and won all five events that she entered, two of them as a qualifier. As a qualifier in Zürich, she overcame a 5–1 third set deficit along with two match points to defeat World no. 29 Tatiana Golovin. She then debuted in the qualifying draw of a Grand Slam at the 2004 US Open, where she was defeated by Lioudmila Skavronskaia after winning the first set 6–1. She eventually fell to a close loss, 6–1, 4–6, 5–7. Her first professional breakthrough occurred in the next match, when she took Venus Williams to two tiebreaks before losing in straight sets in the second round of the Zürich Open. She had held several set points in both sets. She followed up her run in Zürich with a quarterfinal showing at Luxembourg the next week.

2005

Ivanović won her first career singles title, as a qualifier, in Canberra, Australia, after defeating Melinda Czink in the final. Her ranking continued to rise after wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, and Vera Zvonareva, all of whom were top 10 players. Ivanović lost to Amélie Mauresmo at the Australian Open, Doha, and Miami Masters, before defeating her in the third round of the French Open. At that stage in her career it was arguably her biggest win.[11] Ivanović eventually reached the quarterfinals of that tournament, where she lost to Petrova.[12] Later in the year, Ivanović reached the semifinals of the Zurich Open and Generali Ladies Linz, losing to Patty Schnyder in both tournaments.

2006

Ivanović started the year at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia with fellow Serbian Novak Djoković, where the pair narrowly missed the final.[13] To start off her WTA year she played at the Medibank International in Sydney where she once again defeated Amélie Mauresmo, this time in straight sets, before falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. A week later, she lost to Samantha Stosur in the second round of the Australian Open.

Ivanović at the 2006 US Open.

Ivanović made it to the third round of the French Open before losing to Anastasia Myskina. She progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon but lost to eventual champion Amélie Mauresmo in straight sets.

Ivanović made her breakthrough in August when she defeated former World No. 1 Martina Hingis in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.[14] 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 Serena Williams.

Ivanović also played nine tournaments in doubles in 2006, teaming up with Maria Kirilenko and Sania Mirza. Ivanović and Kirilenko made two semifinals and a final; they ended the year at number 17 in the annual Race to the Championships. Ivanović finished the year ranked World No. 14 in singles and World No. 51 in doubles.

2007

Seeded 13th at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Ivanović defeated Polish player Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round but lost in the third round to Vera Zvonareva. Immediately after this tournament, she announced that she had split with her coach David Taylor.

At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, she was defeated in the fourth round by Sybille Bammer. Yaroslava Shvedova then defeated Ivanović in the second round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami Masters.

Ivanović then returned to Europe to play two clay court tournaments in preparation for the French Open. In Berlin at the Qatar Telecom German Open, she won her first Tier I clay court title, defeating World No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. However, Ivanović injured her ankle during the final, which forced her to withdraw from the Tier I 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.

Ivanović had a six-match winning streak heading into the French Open and 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, Ivanović defeated World No. 3 Kuznetsova, and she then beat World No. 2 Sharapova in the semifinals. In the final, Ivanović attempted to win her first Grand Slam singles title and complete a sweep of the top three players in the world. However, World No. 1 and two-time defending champion Justine Henin won the match. Later on, Ivanović admitted that the idea of being in the final of a Grand Slam tournament had overwhelmed her.[citation needed]

At Wimbledon, Ivanović defeated World No. 9 Nadia Petrova in the fourth round and saved three match points to defeat Nicole Vaidišová in the quarterfinals . In the semifinals, three-time former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams defeated Ivanović in straight sets.

Warming up at the 2007 US Open

A persistent knee injury sustained at Wimbledon caused Ivanović to withdraw from Serbian Fed Cup competition with Slovakia and two lead up events to the US Open.[15] She returned to the tour at the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California, saving two match points in the semifinals before defeating Janković. In the final, Ivanović defeated Petrova to win the fourth singles title of her career, which increased her ranking to a career high of World No. 4.

In Ivanović's first three matches at the US Open, she lost only 10 games. Venus Williams then eliminated her for the second consecutive time at a Grand Slam tournament.

Ivanović returned to Europe for three tournaments. At the Tier II Luxembourg Championships, Ivanović qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships by virtue of reaching the semifinals. In the final, Ivanović rallied from 6–3, 3–0 down to defeat Hantuchová in two hours and 25 minutes. This was her fifth career title.

To end the year, Ivanović played the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Spain. Seeded fourth and assigned to the Red Group during the Round Robin phase, she defeated World No. 2 Kuznetsova in a three-set match and Hantuchová in straight sets. Sharapova then defeated Ivanović in the final match of the round robin. Because she finished second in her group, Ivanović played World No. 1 Henin in the semifinals, in which the Belgian won.

Ivanović finished the year with a career-high ranking of World No. 4.

2008

As the fourth seed at the Australian Open, Ivanović defeated 8th seed Venus Williams for the first time in her career by beating her in straight sets. Later in the semifinals, she was down 0–6, 0–2 before she defeated Daniela Hantuchová. She lost to 5th seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the final. Her ranking rose to World No. 2 as a result of her performance at the tournament, the highest of her career at the time.

Ivanović at the 2008 Australian Open

In Serbia's Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I D Round Robin tie against Poland in Budapest, Ivanović defeated Urszula Radwańska in straight sets. In Serbia's second round robin tie against Romania, Ivanović defeated Monica Niculescu and then teamed with Jelena Janković to win the deciding doubles rubber against the Romanian team. In the promotion playoff, Ivanović beat Renée Reinhard of the Netherlands, as Serbia advanced to the World Group II playoffs in April.

In March, Ivanović defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California but lost to Lindsay Davenport in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open iin Miami Masters the following week.

Ivanović started her clay court season as defending champion at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin. She lost to Elena Dementieva for the fourth time in four meetings in the semifinals. Ivanović was seeded #2 at the French Open, where she defeated World No. 3 Jelena Janković in a thrilling encounter in the semifinals. The win guaranteed Ivanović's ascent to World No. 1 the following week, regardless of her performance the final. Nonetheless, she went on to defeat Dinara Safina in straight sets in the final, winning her first (and to date, only) Grand Slam singles title.

Venus Williams serving to Ivanović in their semifinal match at the Zurich Open

At Wimbledon, Ivanović had quick work of her first round match, only to encounter an inspired Nathalie Dechy in the second round. Ivanović looked headed for a straight sets win, before Dechy eventually launched a comeback that saw her produce 2 match points, before Ivanović finally advanced to the third round. Here, she lost to unseeded wildcard Zheng Jie of China in straight sets. At the time, Zheng was ranked World No. 133.

Ivanović started the summer hardcourt season with a third round loss at the Rogers Cup in Montreal to Tamira Paszek. Ivanović, bothered by a sore thumb sustained during practice two weeks before Montreal,[16] withdrew from the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Her withdrawal saw her lose the World No. 1 ranking to Janković. The thumb injury also caused her to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which Ivanović described as "one of the worst moments of her career."[17] Ivanović, having reclaimed her World No. 1 ranking on August 18, was the top-seeded player at the US Open,[18] but lost Julie Coin in the second round. The loss was the earliest defeat of the top seeded player at the US Open since the 1973 tournament.[19]

In her first match after the US Open, at the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Ivanović was defeated by Nadia Petrova of Russia in three sets, bringing her win-loss record since the French Open to 4–4. Ivanović later told the press that she was "just happy to be back injury-free" and that she needed to "play more matches get back into rhythm."[20]

Ivanović played the Generali Ladies Linz in Linz torunament and was the top seed. She won the tournament by crushing Vera Zvonareva in the final.

At the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, Ivanović was seeded #4. In her first Round Robin match, she was defeated by World No. 1 Janković. Her next match was against Zvonareva, to whom she also lost. She withdrew from her final match against Kuznetsova because of a virus.[21]

2009

Ivanović during the 2009 French Open

At the Australian Open, Ivanović was seeded fifth and won her first two matches in straight sets before losing to 29th seed Russian Alisa Kleybanova in the third round.

Ivanović took part in Serbia's Fed Cup win in the World Group II tie against Japan. She defeated Ai Sugiyama and Ayumi Morita to help Serbia to a 4–1 win. At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Premier 5 event on the tour, she lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. Around this time, Ivanović began working with her new coach Craig Kardon in February after parting with former coach Sven Groeneveld.[22]

At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California where she was defending champion, Ivanović advanced to the finals before losing to Vera Zvonareva. In Miami, Ivanović lost in the third round to Ágnes Szávay. In April, Ivanović took part in Serbia's Fed Cup World Group Play-offs against Spain. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues to help Serbia gain promotion to the World Group with a 4–0 win.

At the 2009 French Open, Ivanović won her first three matches in straight sets, before losing to Victoria Azarenka in the 4th round. This early loss caused Ivanović to fall out of the top ten for the first time since May, 2007. After the loss, Ivanović announced that she would cease working with Craig Kardon, and would be participating in the adidas Player Development Program where she would be coached by Sven Groeneveld, Darren Cahill, Mats Merkel and Gil Reyes.[23]

At Wimbledon, Ivanović was seeded 13th. She faced two match points against Lucie Hradecká before prevailing. She then took down Sara Errani and 18th seed Samantha Stosur in the 2nd and 3rd rounds in straight sets, before retiring against 3rd seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams.

At the U.S. Open, Ivanović lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career by succumbing to Kateryna Bondarenko. After the match, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash criticized Ivanović's new service motion, stating that watching it was a "painful experience" and that it "[weakened] her threat." He also felt that Ivanović was "over-analysing" her game and that her main problem was "her lack of confidence."[24]

At the Premier 5 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Ivanović suffered her third successive defeat by losing to Lucie Šafářová in the first round. Citing an upper respiratory tract infection, Ivanović pulled out of the China Open, and announced via her official website that she was taking the rest of the year off.

She finished the year with a 24–14 match record, her worst since she turned pro, and did not win any titles. Ivanović only reached three quarter-finals, one semi-final and a final, and only won back-to-back matches six times. Ivanović ended the year ranked 21, the first time she had been ranked outside the Top 20 since July 2005.

2010

Ivanović serving

Ivanović started the year at the 2010 Brisbane International. Seeded 3rd, Ivanović reached her first semifinal since Indian Wells in 2009. She eventually bowed out to wild card Justine Henin in Henin's first tournament since her return from retirement. Ivanović was seeded 20th at the 2010 Australian Open, but lost to Gisela Dulko in the second round in three sets.

Ivanović then participated in the opening round of the 2010 Fed Cup in Serbia's tie against Russia. She went 0–2 in her singles matches, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova, both in straight sets. She partnered with Jelena Janković in the deciding doubles match, but they fell to Kuznetsova and Kleybanova. Ivanović then withdrew from Dubai with shoulder tendonitis.

Günthardt and Ivanović during practice at the 2010 Bank of the West Classic.

Ivanović announced that she would be working with Steffi Graf's former coach Heinz Gunthardt on a trial basis during the spring North American hard court season, suspending her relationship with the Adidas Player Development Program indefinitely. In her first match as Gunthardt's pupil, a one-set semi-final against reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters in the 2010 Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden, Ivanović lost in a tie-break despite having held match point. After the match Ivanović stated that she had noted improvements in her game.

Despite her improvements reflected in the BNP Paribas Showdown, Ivanović lost her opening match to world no. 63 Anastasija Sevastova at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. Never before had she suffered four consecutive losses. By also losing a huge number of ranking points, Ivanović dropped out of the top 50 for the first time since March 2005. Seeded 25th at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Ivanović won her first match since the Australian Open, but then lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the third round.

In her first clay court event of the year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Ivanović suffered a second consecutive loss to Radwańska. In her first doubles match since June 2009, partnering Andrea Petkovic, she lost to the pair of Borwell and Kops-Jones.

Unseeded at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Ivanović had her best week of tennis in nearly two years. She stunned top 10 players Victoria Azarenka and Elena Dementieva, and top 20 player Nadia Petrova, all in straight sets, before losing to eventual champion María José Martínez Sánchez in the semifinals. She was granted a wild card into the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, and received a bye in the first round due to her semifinal appearance at the Italian Open. She was the first unseeded wildcard to receive a first round bye in the history of the WTA Tour. She lost in the second round to Jelena Janković despite leading by a set and a break. Ivanović entered the 2010 French Open unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2005. She fell to Alisa Kleybanova in the second round.

In the UNICEF Open, Ivanović fell to seventh seeded German Andrea Petkovic in the second round. Ivanović was defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by 13th seed Shahar Pe'er, and as a consequence saw her ranking drop to World No. 64.

In the opening round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford University, Ivanović avenged her Aussie Open 2009 and French Open 2010 defeat to Alisa Kleybanova,before losing in the next round to Marion Bartoli in straight sets. At the Mercury Insurance Open, Ivanović once again suffered a first round loss to Shahar Pe'er. At the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open she rallied from a set and a break down to beat Victoria Azarenka in three sets. Ivanović would eventually retire against Kim Clijsters in the semifinals due to a foot injury. Her ranking dramatically improved to World No. 39. The injury caused her to withdraw from the Pilot Pen tournament held in New Haven.

Unseeded at the 2010 US Open, Ivanović breezed into the fourth round with straight set victories, before losing to defending and eventual champion Kim Clijsters.

Ivanović went into the Hansol Korea Open as the seventh seed, but lost her opener to Vera Dushevina. Ivanović then defeated Kleybanova, the Korea Open champion, in the first round of the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open before again losing to Bartoli in straight sets. Ivanović avenged her losses to Bartoli at the 2010 China Open, beating the Frenchwoman in straight sets in the first round. On her way to the quarterfinals, Ivanović scored another Top 10 victory by defeating Elena Dementieva for the second time in 2010. Ana fell to World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. By virtue of her quarterfinal finish, Ivanović re-entered the Top 30.

Entering the 2010 Generali Ladies Linz as a wildcard, Ivanović defeated Patty Schnyder in the finals, 6–1, 6–2, in just 47 minutes of play. Ana headed over to the 2010 BGL Luxembourg Open as the fourth seed, where she breezed right through to the quarterfinals, before falling down to 8th seed Julia Görges. Meanwhile after making the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament with Yanina Wickmayer, they fell down to 4th seeds Lucie Hradecká and Renata Voráčová.

Ivanović revealed that she had ended her coaching relationship with Swiss star Heinz Gunthardt, the former coach of Steffi Graf. This is because Gunthardt has mixed his interest with tennis and also being a Swiss television commentator. It was announced during the pre-Bali tournament but the relationship was ended after the China Open.

By virtue of her title in Linz, Ivanović qualified for the last tournament of the season, the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions. She made it to the finals, where she defeated Russian Alisa Kleybanova for her tenth career title and her second of the year. With her title in Bali, Ivanović achieved a year-end ranking of no. 17, her fifth ever finish in the top 20.

2011

Ivanović started the year off with the 2011 Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. She competed with Novak Djokovic under the Serbian Flag. Ana and Novak swept their first two ties against Kazakhstan and Australia, 3–0, though fell against Belgium, 1–2. They did qualify for the final, but due to an injury sustained during Ivanović's match against Justine Henin, Serbia was forced to withdraw. Along with the Hopman Cup, Ivanović also withdrew from Sydney.

Ivanović was seeded 19th at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost to Ekaterina Makarova, 6–3, 4–6, 8–10, in the first round in 2 hours and 47 minutes. Ivanović then played in the PTT Pattaya Open, where she fell in the quarterfinals to 5th seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets, 5–7, 3–6. She headed over to Dubai as the 14th seed, where she lost against Patty Schnyder in three sets. She stated the loss was in part because of the abdominal injury sustained in the beginning of the season and subsequently, she withdrew from Doha.

Ivanović then headed to Indian Wells, where she was seeded 19th. After losing her doubles match with Petkovic in a tight three-setter, she lost to Marion Bartoli of France in the quarterfinals.

Ivanović then played in the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 19th. She then lost against defending champion Kim Clijsters in her 4th round match, despite having a 5–1, 40–0 lead in the third set, and having five match points. She partnered with Petkovic in doubles, where after scoring a first round win, stunned sixth seeded team Benesova & Zahlavova Strycova. Petkovic withdrew from the doubles competition right after Ivanovic lost to Clijsters, due to "exhaustion."

Ivanović withdrew from the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament, in order to better prepare herself for the incoming clay court season.[citation needed] However, she joined Serbia on the 2011 Fed Cup event. Ivanović scored a point for Serbia beating Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4, but in her next match against Dominika Cibulková she renewed an injury from the beginning of the season, so she had to retire. But despite that, Serbia beat Slovakia in deciding double rubber, 3–2 as a final score.[citation needed]

Ivanović's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was seeded 15th. After her early exit in the 1st round, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Ivanović headed to 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia where she was 13th seed. Ivanović lost in the second round to Yanina Wickmayer in three sets. Ivanović withdrew from Strasbourg due to a minor wrist injury. Ivanović lost to Johanna Larsson, 6–7(3), 6–0, 2–6 in Roland Garros in the 1st round. Ivanović had a slight resurgence in Birmingham but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. Ivanović lost to Venus Williams in the second round at Eastbourne. She beat Melanie Oudin in 1st round of 2011 Wimbledon Championships, in straight sets. After her win over Eleni Daniilidou in 2nd round, also in straight sets, she fell in 3rd round. She was beaten by Petra Cetkovská who had beaten the 13th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in round 2. After Wimbledon, Ivanovic hired Nigel Sears the head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association as her coach.[25]

Equipment

Ivanović endorsed Nike apparel and shoes at the beginning of her professional career,[26] but at the beginning of 2006 switched to rival Adidas.[27] Ivanovic then signed a lifetime contract with the company. Ivanovic will become an Ambassador for Adidas once she retires from competitive tennis. She is believed to be the youngest athlete, male or female, to sign a contract of such longevity.[28] She started with the Wilson racquets, eventually using the nCode nBlade.[29] Since the beginning of 2008, Ivanović has used Yonex racquets. She previously used the RQiS 1 Tour XL 95, but at the beginning of the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open 2010 in Cincinnati switched to a prototype version of a new Yonex racket.[30] Ivanovic plays with the Yonex EZONE 100 model.

Playing style

Ivanović is an offensive baseliner who is notable for her aggressive play. In 2007 and 2008, Ivanović was regarded as one of the best competitors on the women's tour. After winning the 2008 French Open and becoming #1, Ivanović has endured a significant slump in form. Many critics attribute her loss in form to her lack of confidence and self-belief. At the 2010 Australian Open, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova commented that, "while she has absolutely no confidence in herself, she still fights till the last point." Currently, she has made some improvements to her playing style since appointing a new coach in 2010. As a result, she had started to play with more confidence and was winning matches more consistently. Recently, however, an inexplicable loss of form and increased injury has sent Ivanovic back to the drawing board.

Serve

Ivanović's serve is a powerful weapon. She hit a 124.9 mph (201.0 km/h) serve at the French Open in 2007, the fifth fastest serve of all time on the WTA Tour.[31] As of late, however, her serve has become unreliable – mostly due to technical issues with her ball toss. The success of her ball toss is directly associated with her nerves. During the French Open final in 2007, Ivanović was overcome with nerves and her toss went astray. During Ivanović's slump in play in 2009, her serve became gradually less effective as her confidence diminished. Ana is now confident she has rectified these problems.[32]

Groundstokes

Another one of Ivanović's strengths is her powerful forehand. A flat stroke, hit with not a lot of topspin which gives it its power[33], it has been considered to be one of the best forehands in the game.[34] Ivanović tends to hit more winners of this wing. Her backhand, although not as big as her forehand, has improved over the years. Ivanović's movement and net play were once considered to be her weaknesses, but they have both improved over the years. She is considered now to be considerably faster than when she started playing professional tennis.[citation needed]

Surfaces

Ivanović's best surface is the clay court, where her height allows her to strike clean winners off of high bouncing balls. Nonetheless, she is capable of performing well on hard and grass courts as well. When she launched her re-branded site during 2010, she stated in her bio that she likes all surfaces.[35]

Awards

Ivanović has won the following awards:[35]

  • Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most Improved player (2005)
  • Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most improved player (2007)
  • Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award (2007)
  • Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Diamond ACES Award (2008)
  • Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award (2009)
  • Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award (2007)
  • Michael Westphal Award (2008)

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Tournament 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 SR W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A 3R 2R 3R F 3R 2R 1R 0 / 7 14–7
French Open A A QF 3R F W 4R 2R 1R 1 / 7 23–6
Wimbledon A A 3R 4R SF 3R 4R 1R 3R 0 / 7 17–7
US Open A LQ 2R 3R 4R 2R 1R 4R 0 / 7 10–7
Win–Loss 0–0 0–1 9–4 8–4 16–4 16–3 8–4 5–4 0–2 1 / 27 62–26
Year-End Championship
WTA Tour Championships A A A A SF RR A A N/A 0 / 2 2–4
Career Statistics
Titles–Finals 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–5 3–4 0–1 2–2 0–0 N/A 10–14
Overall Win–Loss 12–5 37–5 40–14 35–18 51–18 38–15 24–14 33–20 15–11 N/A 285–121
Year End Ranking 705 97 16 14 4 5 22 17 –

Career statistics

Main article: Ana Ivanović career statistics

Video games

Ivanović has appeared as a character in Smash Court Tennis 3, released in 2007, Virtua Tennis 2009, released in 2009, Grand Slam Tennis for Wii, also released in 2009, Top Spin 4 and Virtua Tennis 4 both schedule to released in 2011. She stars, among others, alongside Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Lindsay Davenport, Anna Chakvetadze, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova.

Music

Ana has appeared in a song called "Hurricane Ana," produced by Serbian rapper Filip Filipi and Collie Buddz.[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ WTA Profile
  2. ^ "Ana Ivanovic, WTA – Tennis". CBSSports.com. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  3. ^ a b http://www.wtatennis.com/page/RankingsSingles/0,,12781~0~1~100,00.html
  4. ^ "Henin seals French title hat-trick". CNN. 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  5. ^ "Sharapova stuns Serb in Aussie final". CNN. 2008-01-26. Retrieved 2008-07-01. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Ana Ivanovic – the fastest mover in the world" (PDF). Ana Ivanovic.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  7. ^ Ivanovic grows into role of Australia's adopted daughter
  8. ^ "Learn more about Ana. Ana's biography – Official website".
  9. ^ "Ivanović Becomes UNICEF Ambassador". WTA Tour. 2007-09-08. Retrieved 2007-09-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "Wimbledon 2004". Tennis Europe. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  11. ^ Serbian starlet shocks Mauresmo
  12. ^ "BBC SPORT | Tennis | Brave Henin-Hardenne battles on". BBC News. 2005-05-30. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  13. ^ "Hyundai Hopman Cup (Official Mixed Teams Competition of the International Tennis Federation) :: News Item". Hopmancup.com. 2006-01-05. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  14. ^ http://www.ana-i.com/2006/08/ivanovic-wins-2006-us-open-series.html
  15. ^ Ana's diary – I have to rest for two weeks, July 12, 2007
  16. ^ "World No. 1 Ivanović crashes out in Montreal". CNN. 2008-08-10. Retrieved 2008-08-01. [dead link‍]
  17. ^ "Injured Ivanović out of Olympics". BBC Sport. 2008-08-10. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  18. ^ "Injury update". anaivanovic.com. 2008-08-15. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  19. ^ "Ivanović beaten by qualifier coin". BBC Sport. 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  20. ^ "Ana suffers Petrova lost". anaivanovic.com. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  21. ^ Ana pulls out
  22. ^ Ivanovic Selects Craig Kardon as New Coach Tennis.com, February 10, 2009
  23. ^ Coaching update anaivanovic.com June 09, 2009
  24. ^ Cash, Pat (September 6, 2009). "Tearful Ana Ivanovic tortured by overanalysis". The Times. London. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  25. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/8607772/Nigel-Sears-quits-LTA-to-coach-Ana-Ivanovic.html
  26. ^ "The Ana Ivanovic official website". Anaivanovic.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  27. ^ "The Ana Ivanovic official website". Anaivanovic.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  28. ^ [1]
  29. ^ "The Ana Ivanovic official website". Anaivanovic.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  30. ^ [2]
  31. ^ "IDS Serve Speed Leaders". sonyericssonwtatour.com. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  32. ^ [3]
  33. ^ Ana's Guide to the Forehand Accessed April 28, 2011
  34. ^ Favourite shotmakers: Women's forehand Accessed April 28, 2011
  35. ^ a b http://www.anaivanovic.com/bio/learn-more-about-ana
  36. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lI4sWgxdyY
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