News Archive

   NEWS of  Toray Pan Pacific Open

  30.01.2007

   Ana beat world No.44 Shenay Perry 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. The fifth seed clinched victory inside 54 minutes.
    Playing her first match since splitting with coach David Taylor, Ana scored her third consecutive straights sets win over the American.
     The 19-year-old served at 75 per cent and lost just two points when she got the first ball in. She didn’t face a single break point all match and converted all three of the break points she earned.
   
from   www.anaivanovic.com

   Match statistic 

   In the second round Ana will face to Italian Mara Santangelo (world No.32) . It will be the pair's second meeting: Ana won the last match 7-6,7-5 in Los Angeles last August.

   NEWS of  Toray Pan Pacific Open

01.02.2007

   In the second round of tournament Ana won in 3 sets the match against  world No.32 Mara Santangelo 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She will meet fourth seed Jelena Jankovic in the second match on Court 1 on Friday.
     Ana, who is debuting a new adidas outfit here, slapped down 10 aces during the 91-minute match. A solitary break was all the Italian needed to clinch the opening set but after the initial setback Ana took firm control of the match and held serve throughout sets two and three.  In spite of her first service today don`t work (only 44 % - very bad results) Ana shows that she has another trumps in order to win the games.
   
   Match statistic 

The 19-year-old, seeded fifth, has a 1-1 head-to-head record against Jankovic.   

   NEWS of  Toray Pan Pacific Open

  02.02.2007

   Ana scored a brilliant 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over world No.10 Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. The 19-year-old will now meet world No.1 Maria Sharapova’s in the last four on Saturday.
     Having only won one match from a set down in 2006 – against Dinara Safina at Wimbledon – Ana has now done it in consecutive matches within the opening month of the year.
    She hit an astonishing seven aces during the opening set but still lost it, Jankovic herself producing a dominant serving performance to take it thanks to two breaks.
     Breaks were traded in the second set before Ana scored a decisive break in the seventh game. She served it out to level the match, winning half of the points on Jankovic’s serve during the set.
     The opening four games of the decider all went with serve until Ana broke the fourth seed. She survived three break points in game six and added another break in the following game before closing out victory after an hour and 42 minutes.

    “It was a good match,” said Ana. “We both played really well. It was tough – long rallies and a lot of good points. I was just thinking about my game, staying low, moving forward, being aggressive. My returns improved in the second and third sets, which made a big difference. I was able to hold my serve and get free points off my first serve, which was key.
    “Jelena has had some very good matches coming in and is doing very well. I knew it was going to be a tough match. She brings a lot of balls back, but again, it was important for me to play my game and stay aggressive.”
    
   
   Match statistic 

   Besides setting up a semi-final against Sharapova, the win is important in that it ends a run of four straight quarter-final defeats for Ana since last August’s Rogers Cup in Montreal. She joins Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams as the only players to have beaten Jankovic in her 16 matches this season.
     Ana and Sharapova have played once before with the Russian winning 7-6, 7-5 in an enthralling match in the Linz quarter-finals last year. The top seed reached the last four here with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory over world No.26 Ai Sugiyama.

from   www.anaivanovic.com

   NEWS of  Toray Pan Pacific Open

  03.02.2007  Ana will play final

   Top-ranked Maria Sharapova retired during the second set of her Pan Pacific Open semifinal against Ana Ivanovic on Saturday because of a hamstring injury.
     Ana Ivanovic will play No.2 seed Martina Hingis in the final of the $1.3 million tournament after the Swiss beat Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-3.
     Ana was in brilliant form from the offset. The opening two games went with serve before Ana reeled off five straight games, including two breaks. Standing almost a yard inside the baseline to receive Sharapova's second serve, Ana attacked her opponent relentlessly, winning 78 per cent of point's on the Russian's second delivery. She hit 13 winners past the top seed during the opening seven games.
    After dropping the first set 6-1, the Russian star consulted with her trainer. She won the first game of the second set before retiring.  Sharapova, trailing 1-6 1-0, said she felt a sharp pain after serving in the second game of the first set, adding that she had been carrying a hamstring strain since the Australian Open.
    “It's always difficult to end the tournament this way,” the 19-year-old Russian told reporters. “I was hoping the pain would settle or get better, but against a top player it is hard to get away with not serving or returning well.
    “My left hamstring has been having tightness since the Australian Open but after a grand slam you are tight all over,” said Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in the Melbourne Park final last weekend.    
   
   Match statistic 

   Ana's final against Hingis is scheduled to take place at 1pm local time in Tokyo (5am Central European Time). It will be shown live on Eurosport 2 . 

   NEWS of  Toray Pan Pacific Open

  04.02.2007 

   Ana was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by world No.6 Martina Hingis in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. The 19-year-old wasn't able to reproduce the form that had seen off top 10-ranked players Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova in the previous rounds as the Swiss avenged her Montreal final defeat with a masterful display of court craft.
    Ana, seeded five here, was never taken to deuce in the Montreal final, let alone faced a break point. She faced four of them in the opening game as the Swiss expertly countered Ana's aggressive ground game. The second seed took the ball early and was in command early on as she broke then held for a 2-0 lead.
    In a breathless beginning packed with enthralling rallies and several highly entertaining net exchanges, Ana hit back. She broke the former world No.1 thanks to a flurry of big forehands and led 3-2.
   Serve was matched until the ninth game, when Ana struggled to make the first ball count. Hingis capitalised fully and held to love to take the opening set.
    Just as the world No.6 had said "everything was happening a little too fast" after being overwhelmed by Ana in Montreal, so Hingis began to run through the match. Within minutes Ana was facing a 4-0 deficit in the second set as she struggled to find her rhythm, both on serve and with her groundstrokes.
   She regrouped somewhat and held serve two times further to keep her hopes alive, but victory belonged to the Swiss when Ana sailed a backhand long.
   Hingis made just 12 unforced errors during the match  (Ana made 36 !!!) as she clinched her 43 career title - her fifth in Tokyo - after an hour and 11 minutes of intelligent, ultra-consistent tennis.

from   www.anaivanovic.com
   
   Match statistic  

   "I'm very proud of my record here," Hingis said. "I knew going into today's match that I could make the record if I won."

    Despite losing 6-4, 6-2 to No.2 seed Martina Hingis in the Toray Pan Pacific Open final, Ana was in high spirits as she reflected on a highly successful week. The 19-year-old, playing her first tournament since parting company with coach David Taylor, reached her second Tier I final in five months and beat two top 10 ranked players in Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic.
     “It’s been a very good week for me and I enjoyed it very much,” said Ana. “I played some good tennis and won some more confidence. I think this tournament will definitely help me for the rest of the year. I would also like to thank everyone for their hospitality and support.”
     Ana described the early stages of the final as “high quality tennis”. Indeed it was a frantic start with both players timing the ball sweetly as Ana built a 4-3 lead before the Swiss got on top. The 19-year-old said: “In the beginning of the match, we were both playing very well. But at 4-4, my concentration dropped a bit, and she hardly made any mistakes…She played so well and was defending very well. She just played unbelievable today.
     “The difference between this match and Montreal (when Ana won 6-2, 6-3) was that I was more consistent in Montreal. Today, she played much better.”
    Hingis believed that making a fast start was key to her victory. She said: “The most important thing against Ana is to stay with her in the beginning. I noticed in her past matches, she gets off to a very fast start and after that, her confidence keeps building. She really goes for her shots and will hit a lot of winners. We had some very close games at the start, and I tried to just stay with her. After the first set, I gained more momentum.
    “You have to force someone like Ana to make errors. I didn’t have many errors, so I think she felt the pressure to take more risks.”
    Although those risks didn’t pay off during the final, Ana displayed considerable mental strength this week by coming from a set behind to beat in-form fourth seed Jankovic in the quarter-finals, before demolishing world No.1 Sharapova in the opening set of their semi-final before the Russian retired.

from   www.anaivanovic.com